MISS  BIRD'S  TRAVELS. 


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accomplished,  by  the  force  of  an  indomitable  will,  aided  by  great  tact  and 
shrewdness,  a  task  to  which  few  men  would  have  been  found  equal  ;  and 
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tale  of  adventure,  but  a  great  store  of  fresh  and  interesting  information 
about  the  character  and  habits  of  a  people  now  undergoing  one  of  the 
strangest  transformations  the  world  has  ever  seen.  We  doubt  whether  the 
inner  life  of  Japan  has  ever  been  better  described  than  in  the  pregnant 
pages  of  this  pertinacious  Englishwoman."  —  A/".  Y.  Tribune. 

21  XaDg's  Xife  in  tbe  IRocfcg  /Ifcountains. 

By  ISABELLA  L.  BIRD,  author  of  "  Unbeaten  Tracks  in 

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Sir.  /Ifcontbs  among  tbe  SanDwicb 

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''  Interesting  extracts  could  be  made  from  every  page  of  the  book    .    .    . 
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"  It  is  impossible  here  to  give  any  fair  idea  of  the  charm  of  this  book  ;  it 
is  redolent  of  the  tropics."  —  San  Francisco  Chronicle. 

Winter  Journeys  in  Persia  an£>  IkurDistan, 

With  a  Summer  in  the  Upper  Karun  Regions  and  a  Visit 
to  the  Nestorians. 

Two  volumes.     Illustrated.     8vo  .         .         .     $6  50 

"  Mrs.  Bishop's  (Bird's)  book  is  one  of  the  most  entrancing  works  of 
travel  of  the  season."  —  The  Scotsman. 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS,  PUBLISHERS, 
NEW  YORK  AND  LONDON. 


ill 


A  LADY'S  LIFE 


IX   THE 


ROCKY  MOUNTAINS 


ISABELLA 

AUTHOR  OF  "  six  MONTHS  IN  THE  SANDWICH  ISLANDS,"  ETC.,  ETC. 


WITH  ILLUSTRATIONS 


NEW   YORK    &    LONDON 

G.    P.    PUTNAM'S    SONS 

£Ije  ftaichcrboclui  |)re8S 
1894 


TO    MT    SISTER 


:  fHESE  LETTERS  WERfi  ORIGINALLY  WRITTM 

THKT    ARE   NOW 

AFFECTIONATELY   DEDICATE!! 
) 

• 

4 
) 
I 


NOTE  TO  THE  SECOND  EDITION. 


FOB  the  benefit  of  other  lady  travellers,  I  wish  to 
explain  that  my  *'  Hawaiian  riding  dress "  is  the 
*•  American  Lady's  Mountain  Dress,"  a  half -fitting 
jacket,  a  skirt  reaching  to  the  ankles,  and  full  Turk- 
ish trousers  gathered  into  frills  falling  over  the  boots, 
— a  thoroughly  serviceable  and  feminine  costume  for 
mountaineering  and  other  rough  travelling,  as  in  the, 
Alps  or  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

I.  L.  B. 
November  27, 1879, 


NOTE  TO  THE  THIED  EDITION. 


IN  ct  nsequence  of  the  unobserved  omission  of  a  date 
to  n?j  letters  having  been  pointed  out  to  me,  I  take 
this  opportunity  of  stating  that  I  travelled  in  Colo- 
rado in  the  autumn  and  early  winter  of  1873,  on  my 
way  to  England  from  the  Sandwich  Islands.  The 
letters  are  a  faithful  picture  of  the  country  and  state 
of  society  as  it  then  was  ;  but  friends  who  have  re- 
turned from  the  West  within  the  last  six  months  tell 
me  that  things  are  rapidly  changing,  that  the  frame 
house  is  replacing  the  log  cabin,  and  that  the  foot- 
prints of  elk  and  bighorn  may  be  sought  for  in  vain 
on  the  dewy  slopes  of  Estes  Park. 

L  L.  B. 
January  16, 1880. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


LETTER   I. 

* .noe— Morning  in  San  Francisco  —  Dust — A  Pacific  mat 
train  —  Digger  Indians  —  Cape  Horn  —  A  mountain  hotel  —  A 
pioneer — A  Truckee  livery  stable — A  mountain  stream — Find- 
ing a  bear— Tahoe  ....  Pages  1-16 

a 

A  lady's  "  get-up  "—Grizzly  bears— The  "  Gem  of  the  Sierras"— 
A  tragic  tale — A  carnival  of  colour  .  .  17-24 

III. 

A  Temple  of  Morpheus  —  Utah— A  "God-forgotten"  town  —  A 
distressed  couple  —  Dog  villages  —  A  temperance  colony  —  A 
Colorado  inn — The  bug  pest — Fort  Collins  .  25-39 

IV. 

A  plague  of  flies  —  A  melancholy  charioteer  —  The  Foot  Hills  —  A 
moun'-ain  boarding-house— A  dull  life—"  Being  agreeable"— 
Climate  of  Colorado — Soroche  and  snakes  .  40-48 

V. 

A  dateless  day—  "  Those  hands  of  yours  " — A  Puritan — Persevering 
ahiftlessness  —  The  house-mother  —  Family  worship  —  A  grim 
Sunday — A  "thick-skulled  Englishman" — A  morning  call — 
Another  atmosphere— The  Great  Lone  Land—"  111  found  "—A 
log  camp  —  Bad  footing  for  horses — Accidents — Disappoint- 
ment 49-72 


1  CONTENTS. 

VI. 

A  bronco  mare —  An  accident — Wonderland  — A  sad  story — Thf 
children  of  the  Territories  —  Hard  greed  —  Halcyon  hours — 
Smartness— Old-fashioned  prejudices— The  Chicago  colony- 
Good  luck  — Three  notes  of  admiration — A  good  horse — The 
St  Vrain — The  Rocky  Mountains  at  last — "  Mountain  Jim  " — 
A  death  hug— Estes  Park  .  .  .  Pages  73-96 

VIL 

Personality  of  Long's  Peak— "  Mountain  Jim  " — Lake  of  the  Lilies 
— A  silent  forest — The  camping  ground — "  Ring  " — A  lady's 
Dower  —  Dawn  and  sunrise  —  A  glorious  view  —  Links  of 
diamonds— The  ascent  of  the  Peak— The  "  Dog's  Lift  "—Suffer- 
ing from  thirst— The  descent— The  bivouac  .  97-118 

VIII. 

Estes  Park  —  Big  game — "Parks"  in  Colorado — Magnificent 
scenery — Flowers  and  pines — An  awful  road — Our  log  cabin — 
Griffith  Evans — A  miniature  world — Our  topics — A  night 
alarm — A  skunk — Morning  glories — Daily  routine — The  panic 
— "  Wait  for  the  waggon"— A  musical  evening  .  119-142 

IX. 

•Please  ma'ams." — A  desperado — A  cattle  hunt— The  muster- 
A  mad  cow — A  snow-storm — Snowed  up — Birdie — The  Plains — 
A  prairie  schooner — Denver — A  find — Plum  Creek — "  Being 
agreeable" — Snowbound — The  grey  mare  .  143-160 

X. 

A  white  world— Bad  travelling— A  millionaire's  home— Pleasant 
Park  — Perry's  Park  —  Stock  raising  — A  cattle  king  —  The 
Arkansas  Divide  —  Birdie's  sagacity. —  Luxury  —  Monument 
P  urk— Deference  to  prejudice — A  death  scene— The  Manitou— 


CONTENTS.  XI 

A  loose  shoe — The  Ute  Pass — Bergen's  Park — A  settler's  home 
— Hayden's  Divide — Sharp  criticism — Speaking  the  truth 

Pages  167-199 

XL 

fwryall  Creek— The  Red  Range— Excelsior— Unfortunate  pedlan 
Snow  and  heat— A  bison  calf— Deep  drifts — South  Park— Tb.3 
Great  Divide— Coraanche  Bill— Difficulties— Hall's  Gulch— A 
Lord  Dundreary— Ridiculous  fears  .  .  193-207 

XIL 

Deer  Valley— Lynch  law— Vigilance  Committees— The  Silver 
Spruce — Taste  and  abstinence — The  Whisky  Fiend — Smartnesi 
— Turkey  Creek  Canyon — The  Indian  Problem — Public  rascality 
— Friendly  meetings — The  way  to  the  Golden  City — A  rising 
•ettleinent — Clear  Creek  Canyon — Staging — Swearing — A 
mountain  town  .....  208-223 

XIIL 

rhe  blight  of  mining — Green  Lake — Golden  City  —  Benighted — 
Vertigo — Boulder  Canyon  —  Financial  straits  —  A  hard  ride — 
The  last  cent — A  bachelor's  home — **  Mountain  Jim  " — A  sur- 
prise— A  night  arrival  —  Making  the  best  of  it  —  Scanty 
fare  ...  .  224-238 

XIV. 

A  dismal  ride — A  desperado's  tale  —  "Lost!  Lost!  Lost!"  — 
Winter  glories — Solitude — Hard  times — Intense  cold — A  pack 
of  wolves— The  beaver  dams — Ghostly  scenes — Venison  steaki 
—Our  evenings  .....  239-252 

XV. 

A  whisky  slave— The  pleasures  of  monotony — The  mountain  lion— 
"Another  mouth  to  feed"  —  A  tiresome  boy  — An  outcart— 


xi]  CONTENTS. 

Thanksgiving  Day  —  The  new-comer — A  literary  hun.bug— 
Milking  a  dry  cow — Trout-fishing — A  snow-storm — A  desper« 
•do's  den  .  .  .  Pages  253-270 

XVI. 

A  harmonious  home — Intense  cold — A  purple  sun— A  grim  jest — 
A  perilous  ride — Frozen  eyelids — Longmount — The  pathlesa 
prairie — Hardships  of  emigrant  life — A  trapper's  advice — The 
Little  Thompson— Evans  and  "Jim"  .  .  271-284 

XVII. 

Woman's  Mission — The  last  morning — Crossing  the  St.  Vrain  — 
Miller — The  St.  Vrain  again — Crossing  the  prairie — "Jim's" 
dream — "Keeping  strangers"  —  The  inn  kitchen — A  reputed 
child-eater — Notoriety — A  quiet  dance — "  Jim's  "  resolve — The 
frost-fall— An  unfortunate  introduction  .  .  285-296 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Estes  Park          .             .  .  Frontispiece. 

Bad  footing  for  horses  .  .  .  Tn  face  paye  67 

Grand  Crater     .            .  .  .  „   101 

Lava  beds,  Long's  Peak  .  .  „  107 

My  home  in  the  Rocky  Mountaiiu  .  .             .,          f,  120 

The  Great  Divide           .  .  ,            ,,          „  203 

An  Indian  Camp           .  .  .  ,            „         ,,  216 


LETTER   I. 

Lake  Tahoe — Morning  in  San  Francisco — Dust — A  Pacific  Mail- 
Train — Digger  Indians — Uaj»«  Horn — A  Mountain  Hotel — A 
Pioneer — A  Truck ee  Livery  Stable — A  Mountain  Stream — 
Finding  a  Bear— Tahoe. 

LAKE  TAHOE,  September  2. 

I  HAVE  found  a  dream  of  beauty  at  which  one  might 
look  all  one's  life  and  sigh.  Not  lovable,  like  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  but  beautiful  in  its  own  way ! 
A  strictly  Xorth  American  beauty — snow-splotched 
mountains,  huge  pines,  red-woods,  sugar  pines,  silver 
spruce ;  a  crystalline  atmosphere,  waves  of  the  richest 
colour ;  and  a  pine-hung  lake  which  mirrors  all  beauty 
on  its  surface.  Lake  Tahoe  is  before  me,  a  sheet  of 
water  twenty-two  miles  long  by  ten  broad,  and  in 
some  places  1700  feet  deep.  It  lies  at  a  height  of  6000 
feet,  and  the  snow-crowned  summits  which  wall  it  in 
are  from  8000  to  11,000  feet  in  altitude.  The  air  is 
keen  and  elastic.  There  is  no  sound  but  the  distant 
and  slightly  musical  ring  of  the  lumberer's  axe. 

It  is  a  weariness  to  go  back,  even  in  thought,  to 
the  clang  of  San  Francisco,  which  I  left  in  its  cold 
morning  fog  early  yesterday,  driving  to  the  Oakland 


2  A  LADY  S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  i 

ferry  through  streets  with  side-walks  heaped  with 
thousands  of  cantaloupe  and  water-melons,  tomatoes, 
cucumbers,  squashes,  pears,  grapes,  peaches,  apricots, 
— all  of  startling  size  as  compared  with  any  I  ever 
saw  before.  Other  streets  were  piled  with  sacks  of 
tlour,  left  out  all  night,  owing  to  the  security  from 
rain  at  this  season.  I  pass  hastily  over  the  early  part 
of  the  journey,  the  crossing  the  bay  in  a  fog  as  chill 
as  November,  the  number  of  "  lunch  baskets,"  wrhich 
gave  the  car  the  look  of  conveying  a  great  picnic 
party,  the  last  view  of  the  Pacific,  on  which  I  had 
looked  for  nearly  a  year,  the  fierce  sunshine  and 
brilliant  sky  inland,  the  look  of  long  rainlessness, 
which  one  may  not  call  drought,  the  valleys  with 
sides  crimson  with  the  poison  oak,  the  dusty  vine- 
yards, with  great  purple  clusters  thick  among  the 
leaves,  and  between  the  vines  great  dusty  melons 
lying  on  the  dusty  earth.  From  orf  the  boundless 
harvest-fields  the  grain  was  carried  in  June,  and  it 
is  now  stacked  in  sacks  along  the  track,  awaiting 
freightage.  California  is  a  "  land  flowing  with  milk 
and  honey."  The  barns  are  bursting  with  fulness. 
In  the  dusty  orchards  the  apple  and  pear  branches 
are  supported,  that  they  may  not  break  down  under 
the  weight  of  fruit;  melons,  tomatoes,  and  squashes 
of  gigantic  size  lie  almost  unheeded  on  the  ground  • 
fat  cattle,  gorged  almost  to  repletion,  shade  them- 
selves under  the  oaks;,  superb  "red"  horses  shine, 


UOTER  I.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  3 

not  with  grooming,  but  with  condition ;  and  thriving 
farms  everywhere  show  on  what  a  solid  basis  the 
prosperity  of  the  "  Golden  State "  is  founded.  Very 
uninviting,  however  rich,  was  the  blazing  Sacramento 
Valley,  and  very  repulsive  the  city  of  Sacramento, 
which,  at  a  distance  of  125  miles  from  the  Pacific 
has  an  elevation  of  only  thirty  feet.  The  mercury 
stood  at  103°  in  the  shade,  and  the  fine  white  dust 
was  stifling. 

In  the  late  afternoon  we  began  the  ascent  of  the 
Sierras,  whose  saw-like  points  had  been  in  sight  for 
many  miles.  The  dusty  fertility  was  all  left  behind, 
the  country  became  rocky  and  gravelly,  and  deeply 
scored  by  streams  bearing  the  muddy  wash  of  the 
mountain  gold-mines  down  to  the  muddier  Sacra- 
mento. There  were  long  broken  ridges  and  deep 
ravines,  the  ridges  becoming  longer,  the  ravines 
deeper,  the  pines  thicker  and  larger,  as  we  ascended 
into  a  cool  atmosphere  of  exquisite  purity,  and  before 
six  P.M.  the  last  traces  of  cultivation  and  the  last 
hardwood  trees  were  left  behind. 

At  Colfax,  a  station  at  a  height  of  2400  feet,  I  got 
out  and  walked  the  length  of  the  train.  First  came 
two  great  gaudy  engines  the  Grizzly  Bear  and  the 
White  Fox,  with  their  respective  tenders  loaded  with 
logs  of  wood,  the  engines  with  great,  solitary,  reflecting 
lamps  in  front  above  the  cow-guards,  a  quantity  of 
polished  brass-work,  comfortable  glass  houses,  and 


4  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LKTTKB  L 

well-stuffed  seats  for  the  engine-drivers.  The  engines 
and  tenders  were  succeeded  by  a  baggage-car,  a  mail- 
car,  and  Wells,  Fargo,  and  Co.'s  express-car,  th  e  latter 
loaded  with  bullion  and  valuable  parcels,  and  in 
charge  of  two  "  express  agents."  Each  of  these  cars 
is  forty-five  feet  long.  Then  came  two  cars  loaded 
with  peaches  and  grapes;  then  two  "silver  palace" 
cars,  each  sixty  feet  long ;  then  a  smoking-car,  at  that 
time  occupied  mainly  by  Chinamen ;  and  then  five 
ordinary  passenger-cars,  with  platforms  like  all  the 
others,  making  altogether  a  train  about  700  feet  in 
length.  The  platforms  of  the  four  front  cars  were 
clustered  over  with  Digger  Indians,  with  their  squaws, 
children,  and  gear.  They  are  perfect  savages,  with- 
out any  aptitude  for  even  aboriginal  civilisation,  and 
are  altogether  the  most  degraded  of  the  ill-fated 
tribes  which  are  dying  out  before  the  white  races. 
They  were  all  very  diminutive,  five  feet  one  inch 
being,  I  should  think,  about  the  average  height,  with 
flat  noses,  wide  mouths,  and  black  hair,  cut  straight 
above  the  eyes  and  hanging  lank  and  long  at  the 
back  and  sides.  The  squaws  wore  their  hair  thickly 
plastered  with  pitch,  and  a  broad  band  of  the  same 
across  their  noses  and  cheeks.  They  carried  their 
infants  on  their  backs,  strapped  to  boards.  The 
clothing  of  both  sexes  was  a  ragged,  dirty  combina- 
tion of  coarse  woollen  cloth  and  hide,  the  moccasins 
being  unornamented.  They  were  all  hideous  and 


LETTER  u  TuE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  5 

filthy,  and  swarming  with  vermin.  The  men  tarried 
short  bows  and  arrows,  one  of  them,  who  appeared  to 
be  the  chief,  having  a  lynx's  skin  for  a  quiver.  A 
few  had  fishing-tackle,  but  the  bystanders  said  that 
they  lived  almost  entirely  upon  grasshoppers.  They 
were  a  most  impressive  incongruity  in  the  midst  of 
the  tokens  of  an  omnipotent  civilisation. 

The  light  of  the  sinking  sun  from  that  time  glori- 
fied the  Sierras,  and  as  the  dew  fell,  aromatic  odours 
made  the  still  air  sweet.  On  a  single  track,  some- 
times carried  on  a  narrow  ledge  excavated  from  the 
mountain  side  by  men  lowered  from  the  top  in 
baskets,  overhanging  ravines  from  2000  to  3000  feet 
deep,  the  monster  train  snaked  its  way  upwards, 
stopping  sometimes  in  front  of  a  few  frame  houses 
at  others  where  nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  a  log 
cabin  with  a  few  Chinamen  hanging  about  it,  but 
where  trails  on  the  sides  of  the  ravines  pointed  to  a 
gold  country  above  and  below.  So  sharp  and  frequent 
are  the  curves  on  some  parts  of  the  ascent,  that  on 
looking  out  of  the  window  one  could  seldom  see  more 
than  a  part  of  the  train  at  once.  At  Cape  Horn, 
where  the  track  curves  round  the  ledge  of  a  precipice 
2500  feet  in  depth,  it  is  correct  to  be  frightened,  and 
a  fashion  of  holding  the  breath  and  shutting  the  eyes 
prevails,  but  my  fears  were  reserved  for  the  crossing  of 
a  trestle-bridge  over  a  very  deep  chasm,  which  is  itself 
approached  by  a  sharp  curve.  This  bridge  appeared 


6  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  i. 

to  be  overlapped  by  the  cars  so  as  to  produce  the 
effect  of  looking  down  directly  into  a  wild  gulch,  with 
a  torrent  ragiug  along  it  at  an  immense  depth  below. 
Shivering  in  the  keen,  frosty  air  near  the  summit- 
pass  of  the  Sierras,  we  entered  the  "  snow-sheds," 
wooden  galleries,  which  for  about  fifty  miles  shut  out 
all  the  splendid  views  of  the  region,  as  given  in 
dioramas,  not  even  allowing  a  glimpse  of  "  the  Gem 
of  the  Sierras,"  the  lovely  Donner  Lake.  One  of 
these  sheds  is  twenty-seven  miles  long.  In  a  few 
hours  the  mercury  had  fallen  from  103°  to  29°,  and 
we  had  ascended  6987  feet  in  105  miles !  After 
passing  through  the  sheds,  we  had  several  grand 
views  of  a  pine-forest  on  fire  before  reaching  Truckee 
at  11  P.M.,  having  travelled  258  miles.  Truckee,  the 
centre  of  the  "  lumbering  region"  of  the  Sierras,  is 
usually  spoken  of  as  "  a  rough  mountain  town,"  and 
Mr.  W.  had  told  me  that  all  the  roughs  of  the  district 
congregated  there,  that  there  were  nightly  pistol 
affrays  in  bar-rooms,  etc.,  but  as  he  admitted  that  a 
lady  was  sure  of  respect,  and  Mr.  G.  strongly  advised 
me  to  stay  and  see  the  lakes,  I  got  out,  much  dazed, 
and  very  stupid  with  sleep,  envying  the  people  in  the 
sleeping-car,  who  were  already  unconscious  on  their 
luxurious  couches.  The  cars  drew  up  in  a  street — 
if  street  that  could  be  called  which  was  only  a  wide, 
cleared  space,  intersected  by  rails,  with  here  and  there 
e  stump,  and  great  piles  of  pawn  logs  bulking  big  in 


LETTER  i.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  7 

the  moonlight,  and  a  number  of  irregular  clap-board 
steep-roofed  houses,  many  of  them  with  open  fronts, 
glaring  \*  ith  light  and  crowded  with  men.  "We  had 
pulled  up  at  the  door  of  a  rough  Western  hotel,  with 
a  partially  open  front,  being  a  bar-room  crowded  with 
men  drinking  and  smoking,  and  the  space  between  it 
and  the  cars  was  a  moving  mass  of  loafers  and  pass- 
engers. On  the  tracks,  engines,  tolling  heavy  bells, 
were  mightily  moving,  the  glare  from  their  cyclopean 
eyes  dulling  the  light  of  a  forest  which  was  burning 
fitfully  on  a  mountain  side ;  and  on  open  spaces  great 
fires  of  pine-logs  were  burning  cheerily,  with  groups 
of  men  round  them.  A  band  was  playing  noisily, 
and  the  unholy  sound  of  tom-toms  was  not  far  of£ 
Mountains — the  sierras  of  many  a  fireside  dream- 
seemed  to  wall  in  the  town,  and  great  pines  stood 
out,  sharp  and  clear  cut,  against  a  sky  in  which  a 
moon  and  stars  were  shining  frostily. 

It  was  a  sharp  frost  at  that  great  height,  and  when 
an  "irrepressible  nigger,"  who  seemed  to  represent 
the  hotel  establishment,  deposited  me  and  my  carpet- 
bag in  a  room  which  answered  for  "  the  parlour,"  I 
was  glad  to  find  some  remains  of  pine  knots  still 
alight  in  the  stove.  A  man  came  in  and  said  that 
when  the  cars  were  gone  he  would  try  to  get  me  a 
room,  but  they  were  so  full  that  it  would  be  a  very 
poor  one.  The  crowd  was  solely  masculine.  It  was 
then  11.30  P.M.,  and  I  had  not  had  a  meal  since  6 


8  A  LADY'S  LIFE  nr  LKTTSB  L 

A.M.;  but  when  I  asked  hopefully  for  a  hot  supper, 
with  tea,  I  was  told  that  no  supper  could  be  got  at 
that  hour ;  hut  in  half  an  hour  the  same  man  returned 
with  a  small  cup  of  cold,  weak  tea,  and  a  small  slice 
of  bread,  which  looked  as  if  it  had  been  much  handled. 
I  asked  the  negro  factotum  about  the  hire  of 
horses,  and  presently  a  man  came  in  from  the  bar 
who,  he  said,  could  supply  my  needs.  This  man,  the 
very  type  of  a  western  pioneer,  bowed,  threw  himself 
into  a  rocking-chair,  drew  a  spittoon  beside  him,  cut 
a  fresh  quid  of  tobacco,  began  to  chew  energetically, 
and  put  his  feet,  cased  in  miry  high  boots,  into  which 
his  trousers  were  tucked,  on  the  top  of  the  stove. 
He  said  he  had  horses  which  would  both  "  lope " 
and  trot,  that  some  ladies  preferred  the  Mexican 
saddle,  that  I  could  ride  alone  in  perfect  safety ;  and 
after  a  route  had  been  devised,  I  hired  a  horse  for 
two  days.  This  man  wore  a  pioneer's  badge  as  one 
of  the  earliest  settlers  of  California,  but  he  had 
moved  on  as  one  place  after  another  had  become 
too  civilised  for  him,  "  but  nothing,"  he  added,  "  was 
likely  to  change  much  in  Truckee."  I  was  after- 
wards told  that  the  usual  regular  hours  of  sleep  are 
not  observed  there.  The  accommodation  is  too  limited 
for  the  population  of  2000,1  which  is  masculine  mainly, 
and  is  liable  to  frequent  temporary  additions,  and 
beds  are  occupied  continuously,  though  by  different 

1  Nelion'g  Guide  to  the  Central  Pacific  Railroad. 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINa  9 

occupants,  throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  twenty- 
four  hours.  Consequently  I  found  the  hed  and  room 
allotted  to  me  quite  tumhled-looking.  Men's  coats 
and  sticks  were  hanging  up,  miry  boots  were  littered 
about,  and  a  rifle  was  in  one  corner.  There  was  no 
window  to  the  outer  air,  but  I  slept  soundly,  being 
only  once  awoke  by  an  increase  of  the  same  din  in 
which  I  had  fallen  asleep,  varied  by  three  pistol- 
shots  fired  in  rapid  succession. 

This  morning  Truckee  wore  a  totally  different 
aspect.  The  crowds  of  the  night  before  had  dis- 
appeared. There  were  heaps  of  ashes  where  the  fires 
had  been.  A  sleepy  German  waiter  seemed  the  only 
person  about  the  premises,  the  open  drinking-saloons 
were  nearly  empty,  and  only  a  few  sleepy-looking 
loafers  hung  about  in  what  is  called  the  street.  It 
might  have  been  Sunday ;  but  they  say  that  it 
brings  a  great  accession  of  throng  and  jollity.  Pub- 
lic worship  has  died  out  at  present ;  work  is  discon- 
tinued on  Sunday,  but  the  day  is  given  up  to  pleasure. 
Putting  a  minimum  of  indispensables  into  a  bag,  and 
slipping  on  my  Hawaiian  riding-dress  over  a  silk 
skirt,  and  a  dust-cloak  over  all,  I  stealthily  crossed 
the  plaza  to  the  livery-stable,  the  largest  building  in 
Truckee,  where  twelve  fine  horses  were  stabled  in 
stalls  on  each  side  of  a  broad  drive.  My  friend  of 
the  evening  before  showed  me  his  "  rig,"  three  velvet- 
covered  side-saddles  almost  without  horns.  Some 


10  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER* 

ladies,  he  said,  used  the  horn  of  the  Mexican  saddle, 
but  none  "  in  this  part "  rode  cavalier  fashion.  I  felt 
abashed.  I  could  not  ride  any  distance  in  the  con- 
ventional mode,  and  was  just  going  to  give  up  this 
splendid  "  ravage,"  when  the  man  said,  "  Eide  your 
own  fashion;  here,  at  Truckee,  if  anywhere  in  the 
world,  people  can  do  as  they  like."  Blissful  Truckee  1 
In  no  time  a  large  grey  horse  was  "  rigged  out "  in  a 
handsome  silver-bossed  Mexican  saddle,  with  orna- 
mental leather  tassels  hanging  from  the  stirrup- 
guards,  and  a  housing  of  black  bear's-skin.  I 
strapped  my  silk  skirt  on  the  saddle,  deposited  my 
cloak  in  the  corn-bin,  and  was  safely  on  the  horse's 
back  before  his  owner  had  time  to  devise  any  way 
of  mounting  me.  Neither  he  nor  any  of  the  loafers 
who  had  assembled  showed  the  slightest  sign  of 
astonishment,  but  all  were  as  respectful  as  possible. 

Once  on  horseback  my  embarrassment  disap- 
peared, and  I  rode  through  Truckee,  whose  irregular, 
steep-roofed  houses  and  shanties,  set  down  in  a 
clearing,  and  surrounded  closely  by  mountain  and 
forest,  looked  like  a  temporary  encampment,  passed 
under  the  Pacific  Kailroad,  and  then  for  twelve  miles 
followed  the  windings  of  the  Truckee  river,  a  clear, 
rushing,  mountain  stream,  in  which  immense  pine 
logs  had  gone  aground  not  to  be  floated  off  till  the 
next  freshet,  a  loud-tongued,  rollicking  stream  of  ice- 
cold  water,  on  whose  banks  no  ferns  or  trailers  hang, 


LETTER  i.  THE  KOOKY  MOUNTAINS.  11 

and  which  leaves  no  greenness  along  its  turbulent 
progress.  All  was  bright  with  that  brilliancy  of  sky 
and  atmosphere,  that  blaze  of  sunshine  and  universal 
glitter,  which  I  never  saw  till  I  came  to  California, 
combined  with  an  elasticity  in  the  air  which  removefl 
aU  lassitude,  and  gives  one  spirit  enough  for  any- 
thing. On  either  side  of  the  Truckee  great  sierras 
rose  like  walls,  castellated,  embattled,  rifted,  skirted 
and  crowned  with  pines  of  enormous  size,  the  walls 
now  and  then  breaking  apart  to  show  some  snow- 
slashed  peak  rising  into  a  heaven  of  intense,  un- 
clouded, sunny  blue.  At  this  altitude  of  6000  feet 
one  must  learn  to  be  content  with  varieties  of  coni- 
ferae,  for,  except  for  aspens,  which  spring  up  in  some 
places  where  the  pines  have  been  cleared  away,  and 
for  cotton-woods,  which  at  a  lower  level  fringe  the 
streams,  there  is  nothing  but  the  bear  cherry,  the 
raspberry,  the  gooseberry,  the  wild  grape,  and  the 
wild  currant.  None  of  these  grew  near  the  Truckee, 
but  I  feasted  my  eyes  on  pines 1  which,  though  not  so 
large  as  the  Wellingtonia  of  the  Yosemite,  are  really 
gigantic,  attaining  a  height  of  250  feet,  their  huge 
stems,  the  warm  red  of  cedar  wood,  rising  straight 
and  branchless  for  a  third  of  their  height,  their 
diameter  from  seven  to  fifteen  feet,  their  shape 
that  of  a  larch,  but  with  the  needles  long  and  dark, 
and  cones  a  foot  long.  Pines  cleft  the  sky;  they 

1  Pinns  Lambertiana. 


12  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LET-IKE  i 

were  massed  wherever  level  ground  occurred ;  they 
stood  over  the  Truckee  at  right  angles,  or  lay  across 
it  in  prostrate  grandeur.  Their  stumps  and  carcasses 
were  everywhere ;  and  smooth  "  shoots "  on  the 
sierras  marked  where  they  were  shot  down  as  "  felled 
timber,"  to  be  floated  off  by  the  river.  To  them  this 
wild  region  owes  its  scattered  population,  and  the 
sharp  ring  of  the  lumberer's  axe  mingles  with  the 
cries  of  wild  beasts  and  the  roar  of  mountain  torrents. 
The  track  is  a  soft,  natural,  waggon  road,  very 
pleasant  to  ride  on.  The  horse  was  much  too  big  for 
me,  and  had  plans  of  his  own ;  but  now  and  then, 
where  the  ground  admitted  of  it,  I  tried  his  heavy 
"  lope  "  with  much  amusement.  I  met  nobody,  and 
passed  nothing  on  the  road  but  a  freight  waggon, 
drawn  by  twenty-two  oxen,  guided  by  three  fine- 
looking  young  men,  who  had  some  difficulty  in 
making  room  for  me  to  pass  their  awkward  convoy. 
After  I  had  ridden  about  ten  miles  the  road  went  up 
a  steep  hill  in  the  forest,  turned  abruptly,  and  through 
the  blue  gloom  of  the  great  pines  which  rose  from 
the  ravine  in  which  the  river  was  then  hid,  came 
glimpses  of  two  mountains,  about  11,000  feet  in 
height,  whose  bald  grey  summits  were  crowned  with 
pure  snow.  It  was  cne  of  those  glorious  surprises  in 
scenery  which  make  one  feel  as  if  one  must  bow 
down  and  worship.  The  forest  was  thick,  and  had 
an  undergrowth  of  dwarf  spruce  and  brambles,  but 


TiiE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  j.3 

as  the  horse  had  become  fidgety  and  "  scary "  on  the 
track,  I  turned  off  in  the  idea  of  taking  a  short  cut, 
and  was  sitting  carelessly,  shortening  my  stirrup, 
when  a  great,  dark,  hairy  beast  rose,  crashing  and 
snorting,  out  of  the  tangle  just  in  front  of  me.  I  had 
only  a  glimpse  of  him,  and  thought  that  my  imagina- 
tion had  magnified  a  wild  boar,  but  it  was  a  bear. 
The  hoiss  snorted  and  plunged  violently,  as  if  he 
would  go  down  to  the  river,  and  then  turned,  still 
plunging,  up  a  steep  bank,  when,  finding  that  I  must 
come  off,  I  threw  myself  off  on  the  right  side,  where 
the  ground  rose  considerably,  so  that  I  had  not  far 
to  fall.  I  got  up  covered  with  dust,  but  neither 
shaken  nor  bruised.  It  was  truly  grotesque  and 
humiliating.  The  bear  ran  in  one  direction,  and  the 
horse  in  another.  I  hurried  after  the  latter,  and 
twice  he  stopped  till  I  was  close  to  him,  then  turned 
round  and  cantered  away.  After  walking  about 
a  mile  in  deep  dust,  I  picked  up  first  the  saddle- 
blanket  and  next  my  bag,  and  soon  came  upon  the 
horse,  standing  facing  me,  and  shaking  all  over.  J 
thought  I  should  catch  him  then,  but  when  I  went 
up  to  him  he  turned  round,  threw  up  his  heels  seve- 
ral times,  rushed  off  the  track,  galloped  in  circles, 
bucking,  kicking,  and  plunging  for  some  time,  and 
then  throwing  up  his  heels  as  an  act  of  final  defiance, 
went  off  at  full  speed  in  the  direction  of  Truckee, 
with  the  saddle  over  his  shoulders  and  the  great 


14  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 

wooden  stirrups  thumping  his  sides,  while  I  trudged 
ignominiously  along  in  the  dust,  laboriously  carrying 
the  bag  and  saddle-blanket. 

I  walked  for  nearly  an  hour,  heated  and  hungry, 
when  to  my  joy  I  saw  the  ox-team  halted  across  the 
top  of  a  gorge,  and  one  of  the  teamsters  leading  the 
horse  towards  me.  The  young  man  said  that,  seeing 
the  horse  coming,  they  had  drawn  the  team  across 
the  road  to  stop  him,  and  remembering  that  he  had 
passed  them  with  a  lady  on  him,  they  feared  that 
there  had  been  an  accident,  and  had  just  saddled 
one  of  their  own  horses  to  go  in  search  of  me.  He 
brought  me  some  water  to  wash  the  dust  from  my 
face,  and  re-saddled  the  horse,  but  the  animal  snorted 
and  plunged  for  some  time  before  he  would  let  me 
mount,  and  then  sidled  along  in  such  a  nervous  and 
scared  way,  that  the  teamster  walked  for  some  dis- 
tance by  me  to  see  that  I  was  "all  right."  He  said 
that  the  woods  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tahoe  had 
been  full  of  brown  and  grizzly  bears  for  some  days, 
but  that  no  one  was  in  any  danger  from  them.  I 
took  a  long  gallop  beyond  the  scene  of  my  tumble  to 
quiet  the  horse,  who  was  most  restless  and  trouble- 
some. 

Then  the  scenery  became  truly  magnificent  and 
bright  with  life.  Crested  blue-jays  darted  through 
the  dark  pines,  squirrels  in  hundreds  scampered 
through  the  forest,  red  dragon -flies  flashed  like 


LETTER  i.  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  15 

"living  light,"  exquisite  chipmonks  ran  across  the 
track,  but  only  a  dusty  blue  lupin  here  and  there 
reminded  me  of  earth's  fairer  children.  Then  the 
river  became  broad  and  still,  and  mirrored  in  its 
transparent  depths  regal  pines,  straight  as  an  arrow, 
with  rich  yellow  and  green  lichen  clinging  to  their 
stems,  and  firs  and  balsam-pines  filling  up  the  spaces 
between  them,  the  gorge  opened,  and  this  mountain- 
girdled  lake  lay  before  me,  with  its  margin  broken 
up  into  bays  and  promontories,  most  picturesquely 
clothed  by  huge  sugar-pines.  It  lay  dimpling  and 
scintillating  beneath  the  noonday  sun,  as  entirely 
unspoilt  as  fifteen  years  ago,  when  its  pure  loveli- 
ness was  known  only  to  trappers  and  Indians.  One 
man  lives  on  it  the  whole  year  round ;  otherwise  early 
October  strips  its  shores  of  their  few  inhabitants,  and 
thereafter,  for  seven  months,  it  is  rarely  accessible 
except  on  snow-shoes.  It  never  freezes.  In  the 
dense  forests  which  bound  it,  and  drape  two-thirds 
of  its  gaunt  sierras,  are  hordes  of  grizzlies,  brown 
bears,  wolves,  elk,  deer,  chipmonks,  martens,  minks, 
skunks,  foxes,  squirrels,  and  snakes.  On  its  margin 
I  found  an  irregular  wooden  inn,  with  a  lumber- 
waggon  at  the  door,  on  which  waM  the  carcass  of  a 
large  grizzly  bear,  shot  behind  tho  house  this  morn- 
ing. I  had  intended  to  ride  ten  miles  farther,  but, 
finding  that  the  trail  in  some  places  was  a  "  blind ' 
one,  and  being  bewitched  by  the  beauty  and  serenity 


16  A  LADY'S  LIFE  ttv  Lin  i  Jim 

of  Tahoe,  I  have  remained  here  sketching,  revelling 
in  the  view  from  the  verandah,  and  strolling  in  the 
forest.  At  this  height  there  is  frost  every  night  of 
the  year,  and  my  fingers  are  benumbed. 

The  beauty  is  entrancing.  The  sinking  sun  is  out 
of  sight  behind  the  western  sierras,  and  all  the  pine- 
hung  promontories  on  this  side  of  the  water  are  rich 
indigo,  just  reddened  with  lake,  deepening  here  and 
there  into  Tyrian  purple.  The  peaks  above,  which 
still  catch  the  sun,  are  bright  rose-red,  and  all  the 
mountains  on  the  other  side  are  pink ;  and  pink,  too, 
are  the  far-off  summits  on  which  the  snow-drifts  rest. 
Indigo,  red,  and  orange  tints  stain  the  still  water, 
which  lies  solemn  and  dark  against  the  shore,  under 
the  shadow  of  stately  pines.  An  hour  later,  and  a 
moon  nearly  full — not  a  pale,  flat  disc,  but  a  radiant 
sphere — has  wheeled  up  into  the  flushed  sky.  The 
sunset  has  passed  through  every  stage  of  beauty, 
through  every  glory  of  colour,  through  riot  and 
triumph,  through  pathos  and  tenderness,  into  a  long, 
dreamy,  painless  rest,  succeeded  by  the  profound 
solemnity  of  the  moonlight,  and  a  stillness  broken 
only  by  the  night  cries  of  beasts  in  the  aromatic 

fore8te-  L  L  B. 


unman.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  17 


LETTER  IL 

A  Lady's  w  Get-up  "—Grizzly  Bears— The  "Gem  of  the  Sierra*  " 
—A  Tragic  Tale— A  Carnival  of  Colour. 

CHEYENNE,  WYOMING,  September  7. 
As  night  came  on  the  cold  intensified,  and  the  stove 
in  the  parlour  attracted  every  one.  A  San  Francisco 
lady,  much  "  got  up  "  in  paint,  emerald  green  velvet, 
Brussels  lace,  and  diamonds,  rattled  continuously 
for  the  amusement  of  the  company,  giving  descrip- 
tions of  persons  and  scenes  in  a  racy  Western  twang, 
without  the  slightest  scruple  as  to  what  she  said. 
In  a  few  years  Tahoe  will  be  inundated  in  summer 
with  similar  vulgarity,  owing  to  its  easiness  of  access. 
I  sustained  the  reputation  which  our  countrywomen 
bear  in  America  by  looking  a  "perfect  guy;"  and 
feeling  that  I  was  a  salient  point  for  the  speaker's 
next  sally,  I  was  relieved  when  the  landlady,  a 
ladylike  Englishwoman,  asked  me  to  join  herself 
and  her  family  in  the  bar-room,  where  we  had  much 
talk  about  the  neighbourhood  and  its  wild  beasts, 
especially  bears.  The  forest  is  full  of  them,  but 
they  seem  never  to  attack  people  unless  when 

0 


18  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 


LETTE) 


wounded,  or  much  aggravated  by  dogs,  or  a  sae- 
bear  thinks  you  are  going  to  molest  her  young. 

I  dreamt  of  bears  so  vividly  that  I  woke  with  a 
furry  death -hug  at  my  throat,  but  feeling  quite 
refreshed.  When  I  mounted  my  horse  after  break- 
fast the  sun  was  high  and  the  air  so  keen  and  intoxi- 
cating that,  giving  the  animal  his  head,  I  galloped 
up  and  down  hill,  feeling  completely  tireless.  Truly, 
that  air  is  the  elixir  of  life.  I  had  a  glorious  ride 
back  to  Truckee.  The  road  was  not  as  solitary  as 
the  day  before.  In  a  deep  part  of  the  forest  the 
horse  snorted  and  reared,  and  I  saw  a  cinnamon- 
coloured  bear  with  two  cubs  cross  the  track  ahead  of 
me.  I  tried  to  keep  the  horse  quiet  that  the  mother 
might  acquit  me  of  any  designs  upon  her  lolloping 
children,  but  I  was  glad  when  the  ungainly,  long- 
haired party  crossed  the  river.  Then  I  met  a  team, 
the  driver  of  which  stopped  and  said  he  was  glad 
that  I  had  not  gone  to  Cornelian  Bay,  it  was  such 
a  bad  trail,  and  hoped  I  had  enjoyed  Tahoe.  The 
driver  of  another  team  stopped  and  asked  if  I  had 
seen  any  bears.  Then  a  man  heavily  armed,  a 
hunter  probably,  asked  me  if  I  were  the  English 
tourist  who  had  "happened  on"  a  "grizzlie"  yesterday. 
Then  I  saw  a  lumberer  taking  his  dinner  on  a  rock 
in  the  river,  who  "  touched  -his  hat "  and  brought  me 
a  draught  of  ice-cold  water,  which  I  could  hardly 
drinV  wing  to  the  fractiousness  of  the  horse,  and 


1.  THE   KUCKV    MOUNTAINS.  19 

gathered  me  some  mountain  pinks,  which  I  admired 
I  mention  these  little  incidents  to  indicate  the  habit 
of  respectful  courtesy  to  women  which  prevails  in 
that  region.  These  men  might  hare  been  excused 
for  speaking  in  a  somewhat  free-and-easy  tone  to 
a  lady  riding  alone,  and  in  an  unwonted  fashion. 
Womanly  dignity  and  manly  respect  for  women  are 
the  salt  of  society  in  this  wild  West. 

My  horse  was  so  excitable  that  I  avoided  the 
centre  of  Truckee,  and  skulked  through  a  collection 
of  Chinamen's  shanties  to  the  stable,  where  a  pro- 
digious roan  horse,  standing  seventeen  hands  high, 
was  produced  for  my  ride  to  the  Donner  Lake.  I 
asked  the  owner,  who  was  as  interested  in  my  enjoy- 
ing myself  as  a  West  Highlander  might  have  been, 
if  there  were  not  ruffians  about  who  might  make  an 
evening  ride  dangerous.  A  story  was  current  of  a 
man  having  ridden  through  Truckee  two  evenings 
before  with  a  chopped-up  human  body  in  a  sack 
behind  the  saddle,  and  hosts  of  stories  of  ruffianism 
are  located  there,  rightly  or  wrongly.  This  man 
said,  "  There's  a  bad  breed  of  ruffians,  but  the  ugliest 
among  them  all  won't  touch  you.  There's  nothing 
Western  folk  admire  so  much  as  pluck  in  a  woman." 
I  had  to  get  on  a  barrel  before  I  could  reach  the 
stirrup,  and  when  I  was  mounted  my  feet  only  came 
half-way  down  the  horse's  sides.  I  felt  like  a  fly  on 
him.  The  road  a/t  first  lay  through  a  valley  without 


20  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LKITKK  n. 

a  rrrer,  but  some  swampishness  nourished  some  rank 
swamp-grass,  the  first  green  grass  I  have  seen  in 
America ;  and  the  pines,  with  their  red  stems,  looked 
beautiful  rising  out  of  it.  I  hurried  along,  and  came 
upon  the  Donner  Lake  quite  suddenly,  to  be  com- 
pletely smitten  by  its  beauty.  It  is  only  about  three 
miles  long  by  one  and  a  half  broad,  and  lies  hidden 
away  among  mountains,  with  no  dwellings  on  its 
shores  but  some  deserted  lumberers'  cabins.1  Its 
loneliness  pleased  me  well.  I  did  not  see  man,  beast, 
or  bird  from  the  time  I  left  Truckee  till  I  returned. 
The  mountains,  which  rise  abruptly  from  the  margin, 
are  covered  with  dense  pine-forests,  through  which, 
here  and  there,  strange  forms  of  bare  grey  rock, 
castellated,  or  needle-like,  protrude  themselves.  On 
the  opposite  side,  at  a  height  of  about  6000  feet,  a 
grey,  ascending  line,  from  which  rumbling,  incoherent 
sounds-  occasionally  proceeded,  is  seen  through  the 
pines.  This  is  one  of  the  snow-sheds  of  the  Pacific 
Railroad,  which  shuts  out  from  travellers  all  that  I 
was  seeing.  The  lake  is  called  after  Mr.  Donner, 
who,  with  his  family,  arrived  at  the  Truckee  river  in 
the  fall  of  the  year,  in  company  with  a  party  of 
emigrants  bound  for  California.  Being  encumbered 
with  many  cattle,  he  let  the  company  pass  on,  and, 
with  his  own  party  of  sixteen  souls,  which  included 
his  wife  and  four  children,  encamped  by  the  lake. 

*  Visitors  can  now  be  accommodated  at  a  tolerable  mountain  hotel. 


LETTEK  II.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  21 

In  the  morning  they  found  themselves  surrounded 
by  an  expanse  of  snow,  and  after  some  consultation 
it  was  agreed  that  the  whole  party  except  Mr.  Donner 
who  was  unwell,  his  wife,  and  a  German  friend, 
should  take  the  horses  and  attempt  to  cross  the 
mountain,  which,  after  much  peril,  they  succeeded 
in  doing;  but,  as  the  storm  continued  for  several 
weeks,  it  was  impossible  for  any  rescue  party  to 
succour  the  three  who  had  been  left  behind.  In  the 
early  spring,  when  the  snow  was  hard  enough  for 
travelling,  a  party  started  in  quest,  expecting  to  find 
the  snow-bound  alive  and  well,  as  they  had  cattle 
enough  for  their  support,  and,  after  weeks  of  toil  and 
exposure,  they  scaled  the  Sierras  and  reached  the 
Donner  Lake.  On  arriving  at  the  camp  they  opened 
the  rude  door,  and  there,  sitting  before  the  fire,  they 
found  the  German,  holding  a  roasted  human  arm  and 
hand,  which  he  was  greedily  eating.  The^  rescue 
party  overpowered  him,  and  with  difficulty  tore  the 
arm  from  him.  A  short  search  discovered  the  body 
of  the  lady,  minus  the  arm,  frozen  in  the  snow, 
round,  plump,  and  fair,  showing  that  she  was  in 
perfect  health  when  she  met  her  fate.  The  rescuers 
returned  to  California,  taking  the  German  with  them, 
whose  story  was  that  Mr.  Donner  died  in  the  fall, 
and  that  the  cattle  escaped,  leaving  them  but  little 
food,  and  that  when  this  was  exhausted  Mrs.  Donner 
died.  The  story  never  gained  any  credence,  and  the 


'22  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  a. 

truth  oozed  out  that  the  German  had  murdered  the 
hushand,  then  brutally  murdered  the  wife,  and  had 
seized  upon  Donner's  money.  There  were,  however, 
no  witnesses,  and  the  murderer  escaped  with  the 
enforced  surrender  of  the  money  to  the  Donner 
orphans. 

This  tragic  story  filled  my  mind  as  I  rode  towards 
the  head  of  the  lake,  which  became  every  moment 
grander  and  more  unutterably  lovely.  The  sun  was 
setting  fast,  and  against  his  golden  light  green  pro- 
montories, wooded  with  stately  pines,  stood  out  one 
beyond  another  in  a  medium  of  dark  rich  blue,  while 
grey  bleached  summits,  peaked,  turreted,  and  snow- 
slashed,  were  piled  above  them,  gleaming  with  amber 
light.  Darker  grew  the  blue  gloom,  the  dew  fell 
heavily,  aromatic  odours  floated  on  the  air,  and  still 
the  lofty  peaks  glowed  with  living  light,  till  in  one 
second  it  died  cf?  from  them,  leaving  them  with  the 
ashy  paleness  of  a  dead  face.  It  was  dark  and  cold 
under  the  mountain  shadows,  the  frosty  chill  of  the 
high  altitude  wrapped  me  round,  the  solitude  was 
overwhelming,  and  I  reluctantly  turned  my  horse's 
head  towards  Truckee,  often  looking  back  to  the 
ashy  summits  in  their  unearthly  fascination.  East- 
wards the  look  of  the  scenery  was  changing  every 
moment,  while  the  lake  for  long  remained  "one 
burnished  sheet  of  living  gold,"  and  Truckee  lay 
utterly  out  of  sight  in  a  hollow  filled  with  lake  and 


LKITKK  .1  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  23 

cobalt.  Before  long  a  carnival  of  colour  began  which 
I  can  only  describe  as  delirious,  intoxicating,  a  hardly 
bearable  joy,  a  tender  anguish,  an  indescribable 
yearning,  an  unearthly  music,  rich  in  love  and 
worship.  It  lasted  considerably  more  than  an  hour, 
and  though  the  road  was  growing  very  dark,  and 
the  train  which  was  to  take  me  thence  was  fast 
climbing  the  Sierras,  I  could  not  ride  faster  than  a 
walk. 

The  eastward  mountains,  which  had  been  grey, 
blushed  pale  pink,  the  pink  deepened  into  rose,  and 
the  rose  into  crimson,  and  then  all  solidity  ethereal- 
ised  away  and  became  clear  and  pure  as  an  amethyst, 
while  all  the  waving  ranges  and  the  broken  pine- 
clothed  ridges  below  etherealised  too,  but  into  a  dark 
rich  blue,  and  a  strange  effect  of  atmosphere  blended 
the  whole  into  one  perfect  picture.  It  changed, 
deepened,  reddened,  melted,  growing  more  and  more 
wonderful,  Avhile  under  the  pines  it  was  night,  till, 
having  displayed  itself  for  an  hour,  the  jewelled 
peaks  suddenly  became  like  those  of  the  sierras,  wan 
as  the  face  of  death.  Far  later  the  cold  golden  light 
lingered  in  the  west,  with  pines  in  relief  against  its 
purity,  and  where  the  rose  light  had  glowed  in  the 
east,  a  huge  moon  upheaved  itself,  and  the  red  flicker 
of  forest  fires  luridly  streaked  the  mountain  sides 
near  and  far  off.  I  realised  that  night  had  come 
with  its  eeriness,  and  putting  my  great  horse  into  a 


24  A  LADY  S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  n 

gallop  I  clung  on  to  him  till  I  pulled  him  up  in 
Truckee.  which  was  at  the  heisht  of  its  evening 
revelries — fires  blazmcr  out  oi  aoors,  oar -rooms 
and  saloons  crammed,  lights  glaring,  gaming-tables 
throneed.  fiddle  and  banio  in  frightful  discord,  and 
the  air  ringing  with  ribaldry  and  profanity 


THE  iiUCKi'  ^ioU  IS  TAINS. 


LETTER  IIL 

&  Temple  of  Morpheus— Utah— A  "  God-forgotten  "  Town—A  db- 
tressed  Couple  —  Dog  Villages  —  A  Temperance  Colony—  A 
Colorado  Inn — The  Bug  pest — Fort  Collins. 

CHEYENNE,  WYOMING,  September  8. 
PRECISELY  at  11  P.M.  the  huge  Pacific  train,  with  its 
heavy  bell  tolling,  thundered  up  to  the  door  of  the 
Truckee  House,  and  on  presenting  my  ticket  at  the 
double  door  of  a  "  Silver  Palace  "  car,  the  slippered 
steward,  whispering  low,  conducted  me  to  my  berth — 
a  luxurious  bed  three  and  a  half  feet  wide,  with  a  hair 
mattress  on  springs,  fine  linen  sheets,  and  costly  Cali- 
fornia blankets.  The  twenty-four  inmates  of  the  car 
were  all  invisible,  asleep  behind  rich  curtains.  It  was 
a  true  Temple  of  Morpheus.  Profound  sleep  was  the 
object  to  which  everything  was  dedicated.  Four 
silver  lamps  hanging  from  the  roof,  and  burning  low, 
gave  a  dreamy  light.  On  each  side  of  the  centre 
passage,  rich  rep  curtains,  green  and  crimson,  striped 
with  gold,  hung  from  silver  bars  running  near  the 
roof,  and  trailed  on  the  soft  Axminster  carpet  The 
temperature  was  carefully  kept  at  70°.  It  waa  29* 
outside.  Silence  and  freedom  from  jolting  were 


26  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  in 

secured  by  double  doors  and  windows,  costly  and 
ingenious  arrangements  of  springs  and  cushions,  and 
a  speed  limited  to  eighteen  miles  an  hour. 

As  I  lay  down,  the  gallop  under  the  dark  pines, 
the  frosty  moon,  the  forest  fires,  the  flaring  lights  and 
roaring  din  of  Truckee  faded  as  dreams  fade,  and 
eight  hours  later  a  pure,  pink  dawn  divulged  a  level 
blasted  region,  with  grey  sage  brush  growing  out  of 
a  soil  encrusted  with  alkali,  and  bounded  on  either 
side  by  low  glaring  ridges.  All  through  that  day 
we  travelled  under  a  cloudless  sky  over  solitary 
glaring  plains,  and  stopped  twice  at  solitary,  glaring 
frame  houses,  where  coarse,  greasy  meals,  infested  by 
lazy  flies,  were  provided  at  a  dollar  per  head.  By 
evening  we  were  running  across  the  continent  on  a 
bee  line,  and  I  sat  for  an  hour  on  the  rear  platform 
of  the  rear  car  to  enjoy  the  wonderful  beauty  of  the 
sunset  and  the  atmosphere.  Far  as  one  could  see  in 
the  crystalline  air  there  was  nothing  but  desert.  The 
jagged  Humboldt  ranges  flaming  in  the  sunset,  with 
snow  in  their  clefts,  though  forty-five  miles  off,  looked 
within  an  easy  canter.  The  bright  metal  track,  pur- 
pling like  all  else  in  the  cool  distance,  was  all  that 
linked  one  with  eastern  or  western  civilisation. 

The  next  morning,  when  the  steward  unceremo- 
niously turned  us  out  of  our  berths  soon  after  sun- 
rise, we  were  running  down  upon  the  Great  Salt 
Lake,  bounded  by  the  white  Wahsatch  ranges. 


LETTER  in.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  27 

Along  its  shores,  by  means  of  irrigation,  Mormon- 
industry  has  compelled  the  ground  to  yield  fine 
crops  of  hay  and  barley  ;  and  we  passed  several 
sabins,  from  which,  even  at  that  early  hour,  Mormons, 
each  with  two  or  three  wives,  were  going  forth  to 
bheir  day's  work.  The  women  were  ugly,  and  their 
shapeless  blue  dresses  hideous.  At  the  Mormon  town 
3f  Ogden  we  changed  cars,  and  again  traversed  dusty 
plains,  white  and  glaring,  varied  by  muddy  streams 
and  rough,  arid  valleys,  now  and  then  narrowing  into 
canyons.  By  common  consent  the  windows  were 
kept  closed  to  exclude  the  fine  white  alkaline  dust, 
which  is  very  irritating  to  the  nostrils.  The  journey 
became  more  and  more  wearisome  as  we  ascended 
rapidly  over  immense  plains  and  wastes  of  gravel 
destitute  of  mountain  boundaries,  and  with  only  here 
and  there  a  "knob"  or  "butte"1  to  break  the  mono- 
tony. The  wheel  marks  of  the  trail  to  Utah  often  ran 
parallel  with  the  track,  and  bones  of  oxen  were  bleach- 
ing in  the  sun,  the  remains  of  those  "  whose  carcasses 
fell  in  the  wilderness"  on  the  long  and  drouthy 
journey.  The  daybreak  of  to-day  (Sunday)  found  us 
shivering  at  Fort  Laramie,  a  frontier  post  dismally 
situated  at  a  height  of  7000  feet.  Another  1000  feet 
over  gravelly  levels  brought  us  to  Sherman,  the  highest 

1  The  mountains  which  bound  the  "Valley  of  the  Babbling 
Waters,"  Utah,  afford  striking  examples  of  these   "knobs'  o> 
buttes." 


28  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  IIL 

level  reached  by  this  railroad.  From  this  point  east- 
ward the  streams  fall  into  the  Atlantic.  The  ascent 
of  these  apparently  level  plateaus  is  called  "  crossing 
the  Eocky  Mountains,"  but  I  have  seen  nothing  of 
the  range,  except  two  peaks  like  teeth  lying  low  on 
the  distant  horizon.  It  became  mercilessly  cold; 
some  people  thought  it  snowed,  but  I  only  saw  roll- 
ing billows  of  fog.  Lads  passed  through  the  cars  the 
whole  morning,  selling  newspapers,  novels,  cacti, 
lollypops,  pop  corn,  pea  nuts,  and  ivory  ornaments, 
so  that,  having  lost  all  reckoning  of  the  days,  I  never 
knew  that  it  was  Sunday  till  the  cars  pulled  up  at 
the  door  of  the  hotel  in  this  detestable  place. 

The  surrounding  plains  are  endless  and  verdure- 
less.  The  scanty  grasses  were  long  ago  turned  into 
sun-cured  hay  by  the  fierce  summer  heats.  There  is 
neither  tree  nor  bush,  the  sky  is  grey,  the  earth  buff 
the  air  Uae  and  windy,  and  clouds  of  coarse  granitic 
dust  sweep  across  the  prairie  and  smother  the  settle- 
ment. Cheyenne  is  described  as  "a  God-forsaken 
God-forgotten  place."  That  it  forgets  God  is  written 
on  its  face.  Its  owes  its  existence  to  the  railroad, 
and  has  diminished  in  population,  but  is  a  depot  for 
a  large  amount  of  the  necessaries  of  life  which  are 
distributed  through  the  scantily  settled  districts  within 
distances  of  300  miles  by  "freight  waggons,"  each 
drawn  by  four  or  six  horses  or  mules,  or  double  that 
number  of  oxen.  At  times  over  100  waggons,  with 


LETTER  in.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  29 

double  that  number  of  teamsters,  are  in  Cheyenne  at 
once.  A  short  time  ago  it  was  a  perfect  pandemo- 
nium, mainly  inhabited  by  rowdies  and  desperadoes, 
the  scum  of  advancing  civilisation;  and  murders, 
stabbings,  shootings,  and  pistol  affrays  were  at  times 
events  of  almost  hourly  occurrence  in  its  drinking 
dens.  But  in  the  West,  when  things  reach  their 
worst,  a  sharp  and  sure  remedy  is  provided.  Those 
settlers  who  find  the  state  of  matters  intolerable, 
organise  themselves  into  a  Vigilance  Committee. 
"  Judge  Lynch,"  with  a  few  feet  of  rope,  appears  on 
the  scene,  the  majority  crystallises  round  the  sup- 
porters of  order,  warnings  are  issued  to  obnoxious 
people,  simply  bearing  a  scrawl  of  a  tree  with  a  man 
dangling  from  it,  with  such  words  as  "  Clear  out  of 

this  by  6  A.M.,  or  ."    A  number  of  the  worst 

desperadoes  are  tried  by  a  yet  more  summary  process 
than  a  drumhead  court-martial,  "strung  up,"  and 
buried  ignominiously.  I  have  been  told  that  120 
ruffians  were  disposed  of  in  this  way  here  in  a  single 
fortnight.  Cheyenne  is  now  as  safe  as  Hilo,  and  the 
interval  between  the  most  desperate  lawlessness  and 
the  time  when  United  States  law,  with  its  corruption 
and  feebleness,  comes  upon  the  scene  is  one  of  com- 
parative security  and  good  order.  Piety  is  not  the 
forte  of  Cheyenne.  The  roads  resound  with  atrocious 
profanity,  and  the  rowdyism  o.f  the  saloons  and  bar- 
rooms is  repressed,  not  extirpated. 


30  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  m 

The  population,  once  6000,  is  now  about  4000 
It  is  an  ill-arranged  set  of  frame  houses  and  shanties;1 
and  rubbish  heaps,  and  offal  of  deer  and  antelope, 
produce  the  foulest  smells  I  have  smelt  for  a  long 
time.  Some  of  the  houses  are  painted  a  blinding 
white ;  others  are  unpainted ;  there  is  not  a  bush,  or 
garden,  or  green  thing ;  it  just  straggles  out  promis- 
cuously on  the  boundless  brown  plains,  on  the  extreme 
verge  of  which  three  toothy  peaks  are  seen.  It  is 
utterly  slovenly-looking  and  unornamental,  abounds 
in  slouching  .bar-room-looking  characters,  and  looks  a 
place  of  low,  mean  lives.  Below  the  hotel  windows 
freight  cars  are  being  perpetually  shunted,  but  beyond 
the  railroad  tracks  are  nothing  but  the  brown  plains, 
with  their  lonely  sights — now  a  solitary  horseman  at  a 
travelling  amble,  then  a  party  of  Indians  in  paint 
and  feathers,  but  civilised  up  to  the  point  of  carrying 
firearms,  mounted  on  sorry  ponies,  the  bundled-up 
squaws  riding  astride  on  the  baggage-ponies  ;  then  a 
drove  of  ridgy-spined,  long-horned  cattle,  which  have 
been  several  months  eating  their  way  from  Texas, 
with  their  escort  of  four  or  five  much-spurred  horse- 
men, in  peaked  hats,  blue-hooded  coats,  and  high 
boots,  heavily  armed  with  revolvers  and  repeating 
rifles,  and  riding  small  wiry  horses.  A  solitary  wag- 

1  The  discovery  of  gold  in  the  Black  Hills  has  lately  given  it  » 
great  impetus,  and  as  it  is  the  chief  point  of  departure  for  the  dig- 
gings it  is  increasing  in  population  and  importance. — July  1879. 


LETTER  in.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  31 

gon,  with  a  white  tilt,  drawn  by  eight  oxen,  is  pro- 
bably bearing  an  emigrant  and  his  fortunes  to  Colo- 
rado. On  one  of  the  dreary  spaces  of  the  settlement 
six  white-tilted  waggons,  each  with  twelve  oxen,  are 
standing  on  their  way  to  a  distant  part.  Everything 
suggests  a  beyond. 

September  9. 

I  have  found  at  the  post-office  here  a  circular 
letter  of  recommendation  from  ex-Governor  Hunt, 
procured  by  Miss  Kingsley's  kindness,  and  an- 
other equally  valuable  one  of  "  authentication  "  and 
recommendation  from  Mr.  Bowles,  of  the  Springfield 
Republican,  whose  name  is  a  household  word  in  all 
the  West.  Armed  with  these,  I  shall  plunge  boldly 
into  Colorado.  I  am  suffering  from  giddiness  and 
nausea  produced  by  the  bad  smells.  A  "  help  "  here 
says  that  there  have  been  fifty  six  deaths  from  cholera 
during  the  last  twenty  days.  Is  common  humanity 
lacking,  T  wonder,  in  this  region  of  hard  greed  (  (Jan 
it  not  be  bought  by  dollars  here,  like  every  other 
commodity,  votes  included  ?  Last  night  I  made  the 
acquaintance  of  a  shadowy  gentleman  from  Wiscon- 
sin, far  gone  in  consumption,  with  a  spirited  wife  and 
young  baby.  He  had  been  ordered  to  the  Plains  as 
a  last  resource,  but  was  much  worse.  Early  this 
morning  he  crawled  to  my  door,  scarcely  able  to 
speak  from  debility  and  bleeding  from  the  lungs, 
begging  me  to  go  to  his  wife,  who,  the  doctor  said, 


32  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 


LKTTEK  III. 


was  ill  of  cholera.  The  child  had  been  ill  all  night, 
and  not  for  love  or  money  could  he  get  any  one  to 
do  anything  for  them,  not  even  to  go  for  the  medi- 
cine. The  lady  was  blue,  and  in  great  pain  from 
cramp,  and  the  poor  unweaned  infant  was  roaring  for 
the  nourishment  which  had  failed.  I  vainly  tried  to 
get  hot  water  and  mustard  for  a  poultice,  and  though 
I  offered  a  negro  a  dollar  to  go  for  the  medicine,  he 
looked  at  it  superciliously,  hummed  a  tune,  and  said 
he  must  wait  for  the  Pacific  train,  which  was  not 
due  for  an  hour.  Equally  in  vain  I  hunted  through 
Cheyenne  for  a  feeding-bottle.  Not  a  maternal  heart 
softened  to  the  helpless  mother  and  starving  child, 
and  my  last  resource  was  to  dip  a  piece  of  sponge  in 
some  milk  and  water,  and  try  to  pacify  the  creature. 
I  applied  Eigollot's  leaves,  went  for  the  medicine,  saw 
the  popular  host — a  bachelor — who  mentioned  a  girl 
who,  after  much  difficulty,  consented  to  take  charge 
of  the  baby  for  two  dollars  a  day  and  attend  to  the 
mother,  and  having  remained  till  she  began  to  amend, 
I  took  the  cars  for  Greeley,  a  settlement  on  the  Plains, 
which  I  had  been  recommended  to  make  my  starting- 
point  for  the  mountains. 

FORT  COLLINS,  September  10. 

It  gave  me  a  strange  sensation  to  embark  upon  the 
Plains.  Plains,  plains  everywhere,  plains  generally 
level,  but  elsewhere  rolling  in  long  undulations,  like 
the  waves  of  a  sea  which  had  fallen  asleep.  They  are 


LITTER  III.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  33 

covered  thinly  with  buff  grass,  the  withered  stalks  of 
flowers,  Spanish  bayonet,  and  a  small  beehive-shaped 
cactus.  One  could  gallop  all  over  them. 

They  are  peopled  with  large  villages  of  what  are 
called  prairie  dogs,  because  they  utter  a  short,  sharp 
bark,  but  the  dogs  are,  in  reality,  marmots.  We 
passed  numbers  of  these  villages,  which  *are  com- 
posed of  raised  circular  orifices,  about  eighteen  inches 
in  diameter,  with  sloping  passages  leading  down- 
wards for  five  or  six  feet.  Hundreds  of  these  bur- 
rows are  placed  together.  On  nearly  every  rim  a 
small  furry  reddish-buff  beast  sat  on  his  hind  legs, 
looking,  so  far  as  head  went,  much  like  a  young 
seaL  These  creatures  were  acting  as  sentinels,  and 
sunning  themselves.  As  we  passed,  each  gave  a 
waniing  yelp,  shook  its  tail,  and,  with  a  ludicrous 
flourish  of  its  hind  legs,  dived  into  its  hole.  The 
appearance  of  hundreds  of  these  creatures,  each 
eighteen  inches  long,  sitting  like  dogs  begging,  with 
their  paws  down  and  all  turned  sunwards,  is  most 
grotesque.  The  Wish-ton- Wish  has  few  enemies,  and 
is  a  most  prolific  animal.  From  its  enormous  increase 
and  the  energy  and  extent  of  its  burrowing  operations, 
one  can  fancy  that  in  the  course  of  years  the  prairies 
will  be  seriously  injured,  as  it  honeycombs  the  ground, 
and  renders  it  unsafe  for  horses.  The  burrows  seem 
usually  to  be  shared  by  owls,  and  many  of  the  people 
insist  that  a  rattlesnake  is  also  an  inmate,  but  I  hope 

D 


'84  A.  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTKK  IIL 

for  the  sake  of  the  harmless,  cheery  little  prairie  dog, 
that  this  unwelcome  fellowship  is  a  myth. 

After  running  on  a  down  grade  for  some  time, 
five  distinct  ranges  of  mountains,  one  above  another, 
a  lurid  blue  against  a  lurid  sky,  upheaved  themselves 
above  the  prairie  sea.  An  American  railway  car, 
hot,  stuffy,  and  full  of  chewing,  spitting  Yankees, 
was  not  an  ideal  way  of  approaching  this  range 
which  had  early  impressed  itself  upon  my  imagina- 
tion. Still,  it  was  truly  grand,  although  it  was  sixty 
miles  off,  and  we  were  looking  at  it  from  a  platform 
5000  feet  in  height.  As  I  write  I  am  only  twenty- 
five  miles  from  them,  and  they  are  gradually  gaining 
possession  of  me.  I  can  look  at  and  feel  nothing 
else.  At  five  in  the  afternoon  frame  houses  and 
green  fields  began  to  appear,  the  cars  drew  up,  and 
two  of  my  fellow-passengers  and  I  got  out  and  carried 
our  own  luggage  through  the  deep  dust  to  a  small, 
rough,  Western  tavern,  where  with  difficulty  we  were 
put  up  for  the  night.  This  settlement  is  called  the 
Greeley  Temperance  Colony,  and  was  founded  lately 
by  an  industrious  class  of  emigrants  from  the  East, 
all  total  abstainers,  and  holding  advanced  political 
opinions.  They  bought  and  fenced  50,000  acres  of 
land,  constructed  an  irrigating  canal,  which  distri* 
butes  its  waters  on  reasonable  terms,  have  already  a 
population  of  3000,  and  are  the  most  prosperous  and 
•rising  colony  in  Colorado,  being  altogether  free  from 


LETTER  in.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  35 

either  laziness  or  crime.  Their  rich  fields  are  arti- 
ficially productive  solely;  and  after  seeing  regions 
where  Nature  gives  spontaneously,  one  is  amazed 
that  people  should  settle  here  to  be  dependent  on 
irrigating  canals,  with  the  risk  of  having  their  cropi 
destroyed  by  grasshoppers.  A  clause  in  the  charter 
of  the  colony  prohibits  the  introduction,  sale,  or  con- 
sumption of  intoxicating  liquor,  and  I  hear  that  the 
men  of  Greeley  carry  their  crusade  against  drink 
even  beyond  their  limits,  and  have  lately  sacked  three 
houses  opened  for  the  sale  of  drink  near  their  frontier, 
pouring  the  whisky  upon  the  ground,  so  that  people 
don't  now  like  to  run  the  risk  of  bringing  liquor  near 
Greeley,  and  the  temperance  influence  is  spreading 
over  a  very  large  area.  As  the  men  have  no  bar- 
rooms to  sit  in,  I  observed  that  Greeley  was  asleep 
at  an  hour  when  other  places  were  beginning  their 
revelries.  Nature  is  niggardly,  and  living  is  coarse 
and  rough,  the  merest  necessaries  of  hardy  life  being 
all  that  can  be  thought  of  in  this  stage  of  existence. 

My  first  experiences  of  Colorado  travel  have  been 
rather  severe.  At  Greeley  I  got  a  small  upstairs 
room  at  first,  but  gave  it  up  to  a  married  couple  with 
a  child,  and  then  had  one  downstairs  no  bigger  than 
a  cabin,  with  only  a  canvas  partition.  It  was  very 
hot,  and  every  place  was  thick  with  black  flies.  The 
English  landlady  had  just  lost  her  "  help,"  and  was  in 
a  great  fuss,  so  that  I  helped  her  to  get  sup^  i 


86  A  LAD  ¥  S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  .'it 

Its  chief  features  were  greasiness  nnd  black  flies 
Twenty  men  in  working  clothes  fed  and  went  out 
again,  "  nobody  speaking  to  nobody."  The  landlady 
introduced  me  to  a  Vermont  settler  who  lives  in  the 
"  Foot  Hills,"  who  was  very  kind  and  took  a  great 
deal  of  trouble  to  get  me  a  horse.  Horses  abound, 
but  they  are  either  large  American  horses,  which  are 
only  used  for  draught,  or  small,  active  horses,  called 
"broncos,  said  to  be  from  a  Spanish  word,  signifying 
that  they  can  never  be  broke.  They  nearly  all 
"  buck,"  and  are  described  as  being  more  "  ugly  "  and 
treacherous  than  mules.  There  is  only  one  horse  in 
Greeley  "safe  for  a  woman  to  ride."  I  tried  an 
Indian  pony  by  moonlight — such  a  moonlight — but 
found  he  had  tender  feet.  The  kitchen  was  the 
only  sitting-room,  so  I  shortly  went  to  bed,  to  be 
awoke  very  soon  by  crawling  creatures  apparently  in 
myriads.  I  struck  a  light,  and  found  such  swarms 
of  bugs  that  I  gathered  myself  up  on  the  wooden 
chairs,  and  dozed  uneasily  till  sunrise.  Bugs  are  a 
great  pest  in  Colorado.  They  come  out  of  the  earth, 
infest  the  wooden  walls,  and  cannot  be  got  rid  of 
by  any  amount  of  cleanliness.  Many  careful  house- 
fldves  take  their  beds  to  pieces  every  week  and  put 
carbolic  acid  on  them. 

It  was  a  glorious,  cool  morning,  and  the  great 
range  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  looked  magnificent 
I  tried  the  pony  again,  but  found  he  would  not  do 


LETTER  in.  THE  LIOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  37 

for  a  long  journey  ;  and  as  my  Vermont  acquaintance 
offered  me  a  seat  in  his  waggon  to  Fort  Collins,  25 
miles  nearer  the  Mountains,  I  threw  a  few  things 
together  and  came  here  with  him.  "We  left  Greeley 
at  10,  and  arrived  here  at  4.30,  staying  an  hour  for 
food  on  the  way.  I  liked  the  first  half  of  the  drive ; 
but  the  fierce,  ungoverned,  blazing  heat  of  the  sun  on 
the  whitish  earth  for  the  last  half,  was  terrible  even 
with  my  white  umbrella,  which  I  have  not  used 
since  I  left  New  Zealand  ;  it  was  sickening.  Then 
the  eyes  have  never  anything  green  to  rest  upon, 
except  in  the  river  bottoms,  where  there  is  green  hay 
grass.  We  followed  mostly  the  course  of  the  Eiver 
Cache-a-la-Poudre,  which  rises  in  the  mountains,  and 
after  supplying  Greeley  with  irrigation,  falls  into  the 
Platte,  which  is  an  affluent  of  the  Missouri.  When 
ence  beyond  the  scattered  houses  and  great  ring  fence 
of  the  vigorous  Greeley  colonists,  we  were  on  the 
boundless  prairie.  Now  and  then  horsemen  passed 
us,  and  we  met  three  waggons  with  white  tilts. 
Except  where  the  prairie  dogs  have  honeycombed 
the  ground,  you  can  drive  almost  anywhere,  and  the 
passage  of  a  few  waggons  over  the  same  track  makes 
a  road.  We  forded  the  river,  whose  course  is  marked 
the  whole  way  by  a  fringe  of  small  cotton  woods  and 
aspens,  and  travelled  hour  after  hour  with  nothing  to 
see  except  some  dog  towns,  with  their  quaint  little 
sentinels  ;  but  the  view  in  front  was  glorious.  The 


38  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEITER  in. 

Alps,  from  the  Lombard  plains,  are  the  finest  moun- 
talc  panorama  I  ever  saw,  but  not  equal  to  this ;  for 
not  only  do  fivo  high-peaked  giants,  each  nearly  the 
height  of  Mont  Blanc,  lift  their  dazzling  summits 
above  the  lower  ranges,  but  the  expanse  of  mountains 
is  so  vast,  and  the  whole  lie  in  a  transparent  medium 
of  the  richest  blue,  not  haze — something  peculiar  to 
the  region.  The  lack  of  foreground  is  a  great  artistic 
fault,  and  the  absence  of  greenery  is  melancholy,  and 
makes  me  recall  sadly  the  entrancing  detail  of  the 
Hawaiian  Islands.  Once  only,  the  second  time  we 
forded  the  river,  the  cotton  woods  formed  a  foreground, 
and  then  the  loveliness  was  heavenly.  We  stopped 
at  a  log  house  and  got  a  rough  dinner  of  beef  and 
potatoes,  and  I  was  amused  at  the  five  men  who 
shared  it  with  us  for  apologising  to  me  for  being 
without  their  coats,  as  if  coats  would  not  be  an  enor- 
mity on  the  Plains. 

It  is  the  election  day  for  the  Territory,  and  men 
were  galloping  over  the  prairie  to  register  their  votes. 
The  three  in  the  waggon  talked  politics  the  whole 
time.  They  spoke  openly  and  shamelessly  of  the 
prices  given  for  votes  ;  and  apparently  there  was  not 
a  politician  on  either  side  who  was  not  accused  of 
degrading  corruption.  We  saw  a  convoy  of  5000 
head  of  Texan  cattle  travelling  from  Southern  Texas 
to  Iowa.  They  had  been  nine  months  on  the  way  ! 
They  were  under  the  charge  of  twenty  mounted 


LETTER  in.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  39 

vacheros,  heavily  armed,  and  a  light  waggon  accom- 
panied them,  full  of  extra  rifles  and  ammunition,  not 
unnecessary,  for  the  Indians  are  raiding  in  all  direc- 
tions, maddened  by  the  reckless  and  useless  slaughter 
of  the  buffalo,  which  is  their  chief  subsistence.  On 
the  plains  are  herds  of  wild  horses,  buffalo,  deer,  and 
antelope ;  and  in  the  mountains,  bears,  wolves,  deer, 
elk,  mountain  lions,  bison,  and  mountain  sheep. 
You  see  a  rifle  in  every  waggon,  as  people  always 
hope  to  fall  in  with  game. 

By  the  time  we  reached  Fort  Collins  I  was  sick 
and  dizzy  with  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  not  disposed 
to  be  pleased  with  a  most  unpleasing  place.  It  was 
a  military  post,  but  at  present  consists  of  a  few  frame 
houses  put  down  recently  on  the  bare  and  burning 
plain.  The  settlers  have  "  great  expectations,"  but  of 
what  ?  The  mountains  look  hardly  nearer  than  from 
Greeley ;  one  only  realises  their  vicinity  by  the  loss 
of  their  higher  peaks.  This  house  is  freer  from  bugs 
than  the  one  at  Greeley,  but  full  of  flies.  These  new 
settlements  are  altogether  revolting,  entirely  utili- 
tarian, given  up  to  talk  of  dollars  as  well  as  to  making 
them,  with  coarse  speech,  coarse  food,  coarse  every- 
thing, nothing  wherewith  to  satisfy  the  higher  crav- 
ings if  they  exist,  nothing  on  which  the  eye  can  rest 
with  pleasure.  The  lower  floor  of  this  inn  swarms 
with  locusts  in  addition  to  thousands  of  black  flies. 
The  latter  cover  the  ground  and  rise  buzzing  from  it 
as  you  walk  I.  L.  B. 


LETTER  IV. 

A  Plagtts  of  Flies— A  melancholy  Charioteer— The  Foot  Hills— A 
Mountain  Boarding-House — A  dull  Life — "  Being  Agreeable"— 
Climate  of  Colorado — Soroche  and  Snakes. 

CANYON,  September  12. 

I  WAS  actually  so  dull  and  tired  that  I  deliberately 
slept  away  the  afternoon  in  order  to  forget  the  heat 
and  flies.  Thirty  men  in  working  clothes,  silent  and 
sad-looking,  came  in  to  supper.  The  beef  was  tough 
and  greasy,  the  butter  had  turned  to  oil,  and  beef  and 
butter  were  black  with  living,  drowned,  and  half- 
drowned  flies.  The  greasy  table-cloth  was  black  also 
with  flies,  and  I  did  not  wonder  that  the  guests  looked 
melancholy  and  quickly  escaped.  I  failed  to  get  a  horse, 
but  was  strongly  recommended  to  come  here  and  board 
with  a  settler,  who,  they  said,  had  a  saw-mill  and 
took  boarders.  The  person  who  recommended  it  so 
strongly  gave  me  a  note  of  introduction,  and  told  me 
that  it  was  in  a  grand  part  of  the  mountains,  where 
many  people  had  been  camping  out  all  the  summer 
for  the  benefit  of  their  health.  The  idea  of  a  board- 
ing-house, as  I  know  them  in  America,  was  rather 
formidable  in  the  present  state  of  my  wardrobe,  and 


LETTER  IV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  41 

I  decided  on  bringing  my  carpet-bag,  as  well  as  my 
pack,  lest  I  should  be  rejected  for  my  bad  clothes. 
Early  the  next  morning  I  left  in  a  buggy  drawn  by 
light  broncos  and  driven  by  a  profoundly  melancholy 
young  man.  He  had  never  been  to  the  canyon ; 
there  was  no  road.  We  met  nobody,  saw  nothing 
except  antelope  in  the  distance,  and  he  became  more 
melancholy  and  lost  his  way,  driving  hither  and 
thither  for  about  twenty  miles  till  we  came  upon  an 
old  trail  which  eventually  brought  us  to  a  fertile 
"  bottom,"  where  hay  and  barley  were  being  harvested, 
and  five  or  six  frame  houses  looked  cheerful.  I  had 
been  recommended  to  two  of  these,  which  professed 
to  take  in  strangers,  but  one  was  full  cf  reapers,  and 
in  the  other  a  child  was  dead.  So  I  took  the  buggy 
on,  glad  to  leave  the  glaring,  prosaic  settlement 
behind.  There  was  a  most  curious  loneliness 
about  the  journey  up  to  that  time.  Except  fop 
the  huge  barrier  to  the  right,  the  boundless  prairies 
were  everywhere,  and  it  was  like  being  at  sea  without 
a  compass.  The  wheels  made  neither  sound  nor  in- 
dentation as  we  drove  over  the  short,  dry  grass,  and 
there  was  no  cheerful  clatter  of  horses'  hoofs.  The 
sky  was  cloudy  and  the  air  hot  and  still.  In  one 
place  we  passed  the  carcass  of  a  mule,  and  a  number 
of  vultures  soared  up  from  it,  to  descend  again  imme- 
diately. Skeletons  and  bones  of  animals  were  often 
to  be  seen.  A  range  of  low,  grassy  hills,  called  the 


42  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  iv. 

Foot  Hills,  rose  from  the  plain,  featureless  and 
monotonous,  except  where  streams',  fed  by  the  snows 
of  the  higher  regions,  had  cut  their  way  through 
them.  Confessedly  bewildered,  and  more  melancholy 
than  ever,  the  driver  turned  up  one  of  the  widest  of 
these  entrances,  and  in  another  hour  the  Foot  Hills 
lay  between  us  and  the  prairie  sea,  and  a  higher  and 
broken  range,  with  pitch  pines  of  average  size,  was- 
revealed  behind  them.  These  Foot  Hills,  which 
swell  up  uninterestingly  from  the  plains  on  their 
eastern  side,  on  their  western  have  the  appearance  of 
having  broken  off  from  the  next  range,  and  the  break 
is  abrupt,  and  takes  the  form  of  walls  and  terraces  of 
rock  of  the  most  brilliant  colour,  weathered  and 
stained  by  ores,  and,  even  under  the  grey  sky,  dazzling 
to  the  eyes.  The  driver  thought  he  had  understood 
the  directions  given,  but  he  was  stupid,  and  once  we 
lost  some  miles  by  arriving  at  a  river  too  rough  and 
deep  to  be  forded,  and  again  we  were  brought  up  by 
an  impassable  canyon.  He  grew  frightened  about 
his  horses,  and  said  no  money  would  ever  tempt  him 
into  the  mountains  again;  but  average  intelligence 
would  have  made  it  all  easy. 

The  solitude  was  becoming  sombre,  when,  after 
driving  for  nine  hours,  and  travelling  at  the  least 
forty-five  miles,  without  any  sign  of  fatigue  on  the 
part  of  the  broncos,  we  came  to  a  stream,  by  the  side 
of  which  we  drove  along  a  definite  track,  till  we  came 


LETTEB  IV.  THE  ROCKY  iMOUNTAlNS.  43 

to  a  sort  of  tripartite  valley,  with  a  majestic  crooked 
canyon  2000  feet  Seep  opening  upon  it.  A  rushing 
stream  roared  through  it,  and  the  Eocky  Mountains, 
with  pines  scattered  over  them,  came  down  upon 
it.  A  little  farther,  and  the  canyon  became  utterly 
inaccessible.  This  was  exciting ;  here  was  an  inner 
world.  A  rcugh  and  shaky  bridge,  made  of  the  out- 
sides  of  pines  laid  upon  some  unsecured  logs,  crossed 
the  river.  The  Iroiicos  stopped  and  smelt  it,  not 
liking  it,  but  some  encouraging  speech  induced  them 
to  go  over.  On  the  other  side  was  a  log  cabin,  par- 
tially ruinous,  and  the  very  rudest  I  ever  saw,  its  roof 
of  plastered  mud  being  broken  into  large  holes.  It 
stood  close  to  the  water  among  some  cotton-wood 
trees.  A  little  higher  there  was  a  very  primitive 
saw-mill,  also  out  of  repair,  with  some  logs  lying 
about.  An  emigrant  waggon  and  a  forlorn  tent,  with 
a  camp-fire  and  a  pot,  were  in  the  foreground,  but 
there  was  no  trace  of  the  boarding-house,  of  which  I 
stood  a  little  in  dread.  The  driver  went  for  further 
directions  to  the  log-cabin,  and  returned  with  a  grim 
smile  deepening  the  melancholy  of  his  face  to  say  it 
was  Mr.  Chalmers',  but  there  was  no  accommodation 
for  such  as  him,  much  less  for  me  !  This  was  truly 
"  a  sell."  I  got  down  and  found  a  single  room  of  the 
rudest  kind,  with  the  wall  at  one  end  partially  broken 
down,  holes  in  the  roof,  holes  for  windows,  and  no 
furniture  but  two  chairs  and  two  unplaned  wooden- 


44  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  iv. 

shelves,  with  some  sacks  of  straw  upon  them  for  beds, 
There  was  an  adjacent  cabin  room,  with  a  stove, 
benches,  and  table,  where  they  cooked  and  ate,  but 
this  was  all.  A  hard,  sad-looking  woman  looked  at 
me  measuringly.  She  said  that  they  sold  milk  and 
butter  to  parties  who  camped  in  the  canyon,  that 
they  had  never  had  any  boarders  but  two  asthmatic 
old  ladies,  but  they  would  take  me  for  five  dollars 
per  week  if  I  "  would  make  myself  agreeable."  The 
horses  had  to  be  fed,  and  I  sat  down  on  a  box,  had 
some  dried  beef  and  milk,  and  considered  the  matter. 
If  I  went  back  to  Fort  Collins,  I  thought  I  was  farther 
from  a  mountain  life,  and  had  no  choice  but  Denver,  a 
place  from  which  I  shrank,  or  to  take  the  cars  for  New 
York.  Here  the  life  was  rough,  rougher  than  any  I  had 
ever  seen,  and  the  people  repelled  me  by  their  faces  and 
manners ;  but  if  I  could  rough  it  for  a  few  days,  I 
might,  I  thought,  get  over  canyons  and  all  other  diffi- 
culties into  Estes  Park,  which  has  become  the  goal  of 
my  journey  and  hopes.  So  I  decided  to  remain. 

September  16. 

Five  days  here,  and  I  am  no  nearer  Estes 
Park.  How  the  days  pass  I  know  not ;  I  am  weary 
of  the  limitations  of  this  existence.  This  is  'a 
life  in  which  nothing  ever  happens/'  When 
the  buggy  disappeared,  I  felt  as  if  I  had  cut  the 
bridge  behind  me.  I  sat  down  and  knitted  for  some 


.LETTER  iv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  46 

stances.  I  really  did  not  know  how  I  should  get  on. 
There  was  no  table,  no  bed,  no  basin,  no  towel,  no 
glass,  no  window,  no  fastening  on  the  door.  The 
roof  was  in  holes,  the  logs  were  unchinked,  and  one 
end  of  the  cabin  was  partially  removed !  life  was 
reduced  to  its  simplest  elements.  I  went  out;  the 
family  all  had  something  to  do,  and  took  no  notice 
of  me.  I  went  back,  and  then  an  awkward  girl  of 
sixteen,  with  uncombed  hair,  and  a  painful  repulsive- 
ness  of  face  and  air,  sat  on  a  log  for  half  an  hour  and 
stared  at  me.  I  tried  to  draw  her  into  talk,  but  she 
twirled  her  fingers  and  replied  snappishly  in  mono- 
syllables. Could  I  by  any  effort  "make  myself 
agreeable  ? "  I  wondered.  The  day  went  on.  I  put 
on  my  Hawaiian  dress,  rolling  up  the  sleeves  to  the 
elbows  in  an  "  agreeable  "  fashion.  Towards  evening 
the  family  returned  to  feed,  and  pushed  some  dried 
beef  and  milk  in  at  the  door.  They  all  slept  under 
the  trees,  and  before  dark  carried  the  sacks  of  straw 
out  for  their  bedding.  I  followed  their  example 
that  night,  or  rather  watched  Charles's  Wain  while 
they  slept,  but  since  then  have  slept  on  blankets  on 
the  floor  under  the  roof.  They  have  neither  lamp 
nor  candle,  so  if  I  want  to  do  anything  after  dark  I 
have  to  do  it  by  the  unsteady  light  of  pine  knots. 
As  the  nights  are  cold,  and  free  from  bugs,  and  I  do 
a  pood  deal  of  manual  labour,  I  sleep  welL  At  dusk 


46  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  IY, 

I  make  my  bed  on  the  floor,  and  draw  a  bucket  of 
ice-cold  water  from  the  river ;  the  family  go  to  sleep 
under  the  trees,  and  I  pile  logs  on  the  fire  sufficient 
to  burn  half  the  night,  for  I  assure  you  the  solitude 
is  eerie  enough.  There  are  unaccountable  noises, 
(wolves),  rummagings  under  the  floor,  queer  cries, 
and  stealthy  sounds  of  I  know  not  what.  One  night 
a  beast  (fox  or  skunk)  rushed  in  at  the  open  end  of 
cabin,  and  fled  through  the  window,  almost  brushing 
my  face,  and  on  another,  the  head  and  three  or  four 
inches  of  the  body  of  a  snake  were  protruded  through 
a  chink  of  the  floor  close  to  me,  to  my  extreme  dis- 
gust. My  mirror  is  the  polished  inside  of  my  watch- 
case.  At  sunrise  Mrs.  Chalmers  comes  in — if  coming 
into  a  nearly  open  shed  can  be  called  in — and  makes 
a  fire,  because  she  thinks  me  too  stupid  to  do  it,  and 
mine  is  the  family  room ;  and  by  seven  I  am  dressed, 
have  folded  the  blankets,  and  swept  the  floor,  and 
then  she  puts  some  milk  and  bread  or  stirabout  on  a 
box  by  the  door.  After  breakfast  I  draw  more 
water,  and  wash  one  or  two  garments  daily,  taking 
care  that  there  are  no  witnesses  of  my  inexperience. 
Yesterday  a  calf  sucked  one  into  hopeless  rags.  The 
rest  of  the  day  I  spend  in  mending,  knitting,  writing 
to  you,  and  the  various  odds  and  ends  which  arise 
when  one  has  to  do  all  for  oneself.  At  twelve  and 
six  some  food  is  put  on  the  box  by  the  door,  and  at 
dusk  we  make  up  our  beds.  A  distressed  emigrant 


BETTER  iv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  47 

woman  has  just  given  birth  to  a  child  in  a  temporary 
shanty  by  the  river,  and  I  go  to  help  her  each  day. 
I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  all  the  careworn, 
struggling  settlers  within  a  walk.  All  have  come 
for  health,  and  most  have  found  or  are  finding  it, 
even  if  *  they  have  no  better  shelter  than  a  waggon 
tilt  or  a  blanket  on  sticks  laid  across  four  poles. 
The  climate  of  Colorado  is  considered  the  finest  in 
North  America,  and  consumptives,  asthmatics,  dys- 
peptics, and  sufferers  from  nervous  diseases,  are  here 
in  hundreds  and  thousands,  either  trying  the  "  camp 
cure  "  for  three  or  four  months,  or  settling  here  per- 
manently. People  can  safely  sleep  out  of  doors  for 
six  months  of  the  year.  The  plains  are  from  4000 
to  6000  feet  high,  and  some  of  the  settled  "  parks,"  or 
mountain  valleys,  are  from  8000  to  10,000.  The 
air,  besides  being  much  rarefied,  is  very  dry.  The 
rainfall  is  far  below  the  average,  dews  are  rare,  and 
fogs  nearly  unknown.  The  sunshine  is  bright  and 
almost  constant,  and  three-fourths  of  the  days  are 
cloudless.  The  milk,  beef,  and  bread  are  good.  The 
climate  is  neither  so  hot  in  summer  nor  so  cold  in 
winter  as  that  of  the  States,  and  when  the  days  are 
hot  the  nights  are  cool.  Snow  rarely  lies  on  the 
lower  ranges,  and  horses  and  cattle  don't  require  to 
be  either  fed  or  housed  during  the  winter.  Of  course 
the  rarefied  air  quickens  respiration.  All  this  is 
from  hearsay.1  I  am  not  under  favourable  circum- 

1  The  curative  effect  of  the  climate  of  Colorado  can  hardly  be 


48  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  iv. 

stances,  either  for  mind  or  body,  and  at  present  I  feel 
a  singular  lassitude  and  difficulty  in  taking  exercis^ 
but  this  is  said  to  be  the  milder  form  of  the  affection 
known  on  higher  altitudes  as  soroche,  or  "  mountain 
sickness,"  and  is  only  temporary.  I  am  forming  a 
plan  for  getting  farther  into  the  mountains,  a*hd  hope 
that  my  next  letter  will  be  more  lively.  I  killed  a 
rattlesnake  this  morning  close  to  the  cabin,  and  have 
taken  its  rattle,  which  has  eleven  joints.  My  life  is 
embittered  by  the  abundance  of  these  reptiles — 
rattlesnakes  and  moccasin  snakes,  both  deadly,  carpet 
snakes  and  "  green  racers,"  reputed  dangerous,  water 
snakes,  tree  snakes,  and  mouse  snakes,  harmless  but 
abominable.  Seven  rattlesnakes  have  been  killed 
just  outside  the  cabin  since  I  came.  A  snake,  three 
feet  long,  was  found  coiled  under  the  pillow  of  the 
sick  woman.  I  see  snakes  in  all  withered  twigs,  and 
am  ready  to  flee  at  "  the  sound  of  a  shaken  leaf." 
And  besides  snakes,  the  earth  and  air  are  alive  and 
noisy  with  forms  of  insect  life,  large  and  small,  sting- 
ing, humming,  buzzing, 'striking,  rasping,  devouring! 

taggerated.  In  travelling  extensively  through  the  Territory 
Afterwards  I  found  that  nine  out  of  every  ten  settlers  were  cured 
invalids.  Statistics  and  medical  works  on  the  climate  of  the  State 
(as  it  now  is)  represent  Colorado  as  the  most  remarkable  sanatorium 
in  the  world. 

L  L.  B. 


LMTSBV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


LETTEE  Y. 

A.  Dateless  Day—"  Those  hands  of  yours  "—A  Puritan— Pemrer 
ing  Shiftlessness— The  House-Mother—Family  Worship— A 
Grim  Sunday — A  "  Thick-skulled  Englishman  " — A  Morning 
Call— Another  Atmosphere— The  Great  Lone  Land—"  111 
Found" — A  Log  Camp — Bad  Footing  for  Horses — Accidents- 
Disappointment. 

CANYON,  September. 

THE  absence  of  a  date  shows  my  predicament. 
They  have  no  newspaper ;  /  have  no  almanack ;  the 
father  is  away  for  the  day,  and  none  of  the  others 
can  help  me,  and  they  look  contemptuously  upon 
my  desire  for  information  on  the  subject.  The  mono- 
tony will  come  to  an  end  to-morrow,  for  Chalmers 
offers  to  be  my  guide  over  the  mountains  to  Estes 
Park,  and  has  persuaded  his  wife  "for  once  to  go 
for  a  frolic ; "  and  with  much  reluctance,  many  growls 
at  the  waste  of  time,  and  many  apprehensions  of 
danger  and  loss,  she  has  consented  to  accompany 
him.  My  life  has  grown  less  dull  from  theirs  having 
become  more  interesting  to  me,  and  as  I  have  "  made 
myself  agreeable,"  we  are  on  fairly  friendly  terms. 
My  first  move  in  the  direction  of  fraternising  was, 
however,  srnbbed  A  few  days  ago,  having  finished 


60  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LE-ITEU  v 

my  own  work,  I  offered  to  wash  up  the  plates,  but 
Mrs.  C.,  with  a  look  which  conveyed  more  than 
words,  a  curl  of  her  nose,  and  a  sneer  in  her  twang, 
said,  "  Guess  you'll  make  more  work  nor  you'll  do. 
Those  hands  of  yours  "  (very  brown  and  coarse  they 
were)  "  ain't  no  good ;  never  done  nothing,  I  guess." 
Then  to  her  awkward  daughter :  "  This  woman  says 
she'll  wash  up!  Ha!  ha!  look  at  her  arms  and 
hands !"  This  was  the  nearest  approach  to  a  laugh 
I  have  heard,  and  have  never  seen  even  a  tendency 
towards  a  smile.  Since  then  I  have  risen  in  their 
estimation  by  improvising  a  lamp — Hawaiian  fashion 
— by  putting  a  wisp  of  rag  into  a  tin  of  fat.  They 
have  actually  condescended  to  sit  up  till  the  stars 
come  out  since.  Another  advance  was  made  by 
means  of  the  shell-pattern  quilt  I  am  knitting  for 
you.  There  has  been  a  tendency  towards  approving 
of  it,  and  a  few  days  since  the  girl  snatched  it  out  of 
my  hand,  saying,  "  I  want  this,"  and  apparently  took 
it  to  the  camp.  This  has  resulted  in  my  having  a 
knitting-class,  with  the  woman,  her  married  daughter, 
and  a  woman  from  the  camp,  as  pupils.  Then  I  have 
gained  ground  with  t&e  man  by  being  able  to  catch 
and  saddle  a  horse.  I  am  often  reminded  of  my 
favourite  couplet, — 

u  Beware  of  desperate  steps  ;  the  darkest  day, 
Live  till  to-morrow,  will  have  passed  away." 


urrrEK  v. 


THE  KOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  51 


But  oh  !  what  a  hard,  narrow  life  it  is  with  which 
I  am  now  in  contact !  A  narrow  and  unattractive 
religion,  which  I  believe  still  to  be  genuine,  and  an 
intense  but  narrow  patriotism,  are  the  only  higher 
influences.  Chalmers  came  from  Illinois  nine  years 
ago,  pronounced  by  the  doctors  to  be  far  gone  in  con- 
sumption, and  in  two  years  he  was  strong.  They  are 
a  queer  family  ;  somewhere  in  the  remote  Highlands 
I  have  seen  such  another.  Its  head  is  tall,  gaunt, 
lean,  and  ragged,  and  has  lost  one  eye.  On  an  English 
road  one  would  think  him  a  starving  or  a  dangerous 
beggar.  He  is  slightly  intelligent,  very  opinionated, 
and  wishes  to  be  thought  well-informed,  which  he  is 
not.  He  belongs  to  the  straitest  sect  of  Reformed 
Presbyterians  ("  Psalm-singers "),  but  exaggerates 
anything  of  bigotry  and  intolerance  which  may 
characterise  them,  and  rejoices  in  truly  merciless 
fashion  over  the  excision  of  the  philanthropic  Mr. 
Stuart,  of  Philadelphia,  for  worshipping  with  congre- 
gations which  sing  hymns.  His  great  boast  is  that 
his  ancestors  were  Scottish  Covenanters.  He  con- 
siders himself  a  profound  theologian,  and  by  the  pine 
logs  at  night  discourses  to  me  $n  the  mysteries  of 
the  eternal  counsels  and  the  divine  decrees.  Colorado, 
with  its  progress  and  its  future,  is  also  a  constant 
theme.  He  hates  England  with  a  bitter,  personal 
hatred,  and  regards  any  allusions  which  I  make  to 
the  progress  of  Victoria  as  a  personal  insult.  He 
trusts  to  live  to  see  the  downfall  of  the  British  mon- 


52  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  v. 

archy  and  the  disintegration  of  the  empire.  He  ia 
very  fond  of  talking,  and  asks  ine  a  great  deal  about 
my  travels,  but  if  I  speak  favourably  of  the  climate 
or  resources  of  any  other  country,  he  regards  it  as  a 
dur  on  Colorado. 

They  have  one  hundred  and  sixty  acres  of  land,  a 
"  squatter's  claim,"  and  an  invaluable  water-power* 
He  is  a  lumberer,  and  has  a  saw-mill  of  a  very  primi- 
tive kind.  I  notice  that  every  day  something  goes 
wrong  with  it,  and  this  is  the  case  throughout.  If  he 
wants  to  haul  timber  down,  one  or  other  of  the  oxen 
cannot  be  found ;  or  if  the  timber  is  actually  under 
way,  a  wheel  or  a  part  of  the  harness  gives  way,  and 
the  whole  affair  is  at  a  standstill  for  days.  The  cabin 
is  hardly  a  shelter,  but  is  allowed  to  remain  in  ruins 
because  the  foundation  of  a  frame-house  was  once 
dug.  A  horse  is  always  sure  to  be  lame  for  want  of 
a  shoe-nail,  or  a  saddle  to  be  useless  from  a  broken 
buckle,  and  the  waggon  and  harness  are  *a  marvel  of 
temporary  shifts,  patchings,  and  insecure  linkings 
with  strands  of  rope.  Nothing  is  ever  ready  or  whole 
when  it  is  wanted.  Yet  Chalmers  is  a  frugal,  sober, 
hard-working  man,  and  he,  his  eldest  son,  and  a 
*  hired  man  "  "  rise  early,"  "  going  forth  to  their  work 
and  labour  till  the  evening;"  and  if  they  do  not 
'late  take  rest,"  they  truly  "  eat  the  bread  of  careful- 
Dess."  It  is  hardly  surprising  that  nine  years  of 
persevering  shiftlessness  should  have  resulted  i» 


LEITKU  v.  T1JE  KOOKY   MOUNTAINS.  53 

nothing  but  the  ability  to  procure  the  bare  necessaries 
of  life. 

Of  Mrs.  C.  I  can  say  less.  She  looks  like  one  of 
the  English  poor  women  of  our  childhood  —  lean, 
clean,  tof  thless,  and  speaks,  like  some  of  them,  in  a 
piping,  discontented  voice,  which  seems  to  convey  a 
personal  reproach.  All  her  waking  hours  are  spent 
in  a  large  sun-bonnet.  She  is  never  idle  for  one 
minute,  is  severe  and  hard,  and  despises  everything 
but  work.  I  think  she  suffers  from  her  husband's 
shiftlessness.  She  always  speaks  of  me  as  "  this  "  or 
"  that  woman."  The  family  consists  of  a  grown-up 
son,  a  shiftless,  melancholy-looking  youth,  who  pos- 
sibly pines  for  a  wider  life ;  a  girl  of  sixteen,  a  sour 
repellent-looking  creature,  with  as  much  manners  as 
a  pig ;  and  three  hard,  unchildlike  younger  children. 
By  the  whole  family  all  courtesy  and  gentleness  of 
act  or  speech  seem  regarded  as  "  works  of  the  flesh," 
if  not  of  "the  devil."  They  knock  over  all  one's 
things  without  apologising  or  picking  them  up,  and 
when  I  thank  them  for  anything  they  look  grimly 
amazed.  I  feel  that  they  think  it  sinful  that  I  do 
not  work  as  hard  as  they  do.  I  wish  I  could  show 
them  "  a  more  excellent  way."  This  hard  greed,  and 
the  exclusive  pursuit  of  gain,  with  the  indifference  to 
all  which  does  not  aid  in  its  acquisition,  are  eating 
up  family  love  and  life  throughout  the  West.  I  write 
this  reluctantly,  and  after  a  total  experience  ot  nearly 


54  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  v.. 

two  years  in  the  United  States.  They  seem  to  have 
no  "Sunday  clothes/'  and  few  of  any  kind.  The 
sewing-machine,  like  most  other  things,  is  out  of 
order.  One  comb  serves  the  whole  family.  Mrs.  C. 
is  cleanly  in  her  person  and  dress,  and  the  food, 
though  poor,  is  clean.  Work,  work,  work,  is  their  day 
and  their  life.  They  are  thoroughly  ungenial,  and 
have  that  air  of  suspicion  in  speaking  of  every  one 
which  is  not  unusual  in  the  land  of  their  ancestors. 
Thomas  Chalmers  is  the  man's  ecclesiastical  hero,  in 
spite  of  his  own  severe  Puritanism.  Their  live  stock 
consists  of  two  wretched  horses,  a  fairly  good  broncho 
mare,  a  mule,  four  badly-bred  cows,  four  gaunt  and 
famished-looking  oxen,  some  swine  of  singularly 
active  habits,  and  plenty  of  poultry.  The  old  saddles 
are  tied  on  with  twine ;  one  side  of  the  bridle  is  a 
worn-out  strap  and  the  other  a  rope.  They  wear 
boots,  but  never  two  of  one  pair,  and  never  blacked, 
of  course,  but  no  stockings.  They  think  it  quite 
effeminate  to  sleep  under  a  roof,  except  during  the 
severest  months  of  the  year.  There  is  a  married 
daughter  across  the  river,  just  the  same  hard,  love- 
less, moral,  hard-working  being  as  her  mother.  Each 
morning,  soon  after  seven,  when  I  have  swept  the 
cabin,  the  family  come  in  for  "  worship."  Chalmers 
"  wales  "  a  psalm,  in  every  sense  of  the  word  wail,  to 
the  most  doleful  of  dismal  tunes  ;  they  read  a  chapter 
round,  and  he  prays.  If  his  prayer  has  something 


LETTER  v.  THE  KOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  55 

of  the  tone  of  the  imprecatory  psalms,  he  has  high 
authority  in  liis  favour ;  and  if  there  be  a  tinge  of  the 
Pharisaic  thanksgiving,  it  is  hardly  surprising  that  he 
is  grateful  that  he  is  not  as  other  men  are  when  he 
contemplates  the  general  godlessness  of  the  region. 

Sunday  was  a  dreadful  day.  The  family  kept  the 
Commandment  literally,  and  did  no  work.  "Worship 
was  conducted  twice,  and  was  rather  longer  than 
usual.  Chalmers  does  not  allow  of  any  books  in  his 
house  but  theological  works,  and  two  or  three  volumes 
of  dull  travels,  so  the  mother  and  children  slept 
nearly  all  day.  The  man  attempted  to  read  a  well- 
worn  copy  of  Boston's  Fourfold  State,  but  shortly 
fell  asleep,  and  they  only  woke  up  for  their  meals. 
Friday  and  Saturday  had  been  passably  cool,  with 
frosty  nights,  but  on  Saturday  night  it  changed,  and 
I  have  not  felt  anything  like  the  heat  of  Sunday 
since  I  left  New  Zealand,  though  the  mercury  was 
not  higher  than  91°.  It  was  sickening,  scorching, 
melting,  unbearable,  from  the  mere  power  of  the 
sun's  rays.  It  was  an  awful  day,  and  seemed  as  if 
it  would  never  come  to  an  end.  The  cabin,  with  its 
mud  roof  under  the  shade  of  the  trees,  gave  a  little 
shelter,  but  it  was  occupied  by  the  family,  and  I 
longed  for  solitude.  I  took  the  Imitation  of  Christ, 
and  strolled  up  the  canyon  among  the  withered, 
crackling  leaves,  in  much  dread  of  snakes,  and  lay 
down  on  a  rough  table  which  some  passing  emigrant 


56  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  v. 

had  left,  and  soon  fell  asleep.  When  I  awoke  it  was 
only  noon.  The  sun  looked  wicked  as  it  blazed  like 
a  white  magnesium  light.  A  large  tree-snake  (quite 
harmless)  hung  from  the  pine  under  which  I  had 
taken  shelter,  and  looked  as  if  it  were  going  to  drop 
upon  me.  1  was  covered  with  black  dies.  The  air 
was  full  of  a  busy,  noisy  din  of  insects,  and  snakes, 
locusts,  wasps,  flies,  and  grasshoppers  were  all  rioting 
in  the  torrid  heat.  Would  the  sublime  philosophy 
of  Thomas  a  Kempis,  I  wondered,  have  given  way 
under  this  ?  All  day  I  seemed  to  hear  in  mockery 
the  clear  laugh  of  the  Hilo  streams,  and  the  drip  of 
Kona  showers,  and  to  see  as  in  a  mirage  the  perpetual 
green  of  windward  Hawaii.  I  was  driven  back  to  the 
cabin  in  the  late  afternoon,  and  in  the  evening  listened 
for  two  hours  to  abuse  of  my  own  country,  and  to 
sweeping  condemnations  of  all  religionists  outside  of 
the  brotherhood  of  "  Psalm-singers."  It  is  jarring 
and  painful,  yet  I  would  say  of  Chalmers,  as  Dr. 
Holland  says  of  another : — 

"  If  ever  I  shall  reach  the  home  in  heaven, 
For  whose  dear  rest  I  humbly  hope  and  pray, 
In  the  great  company  of  the  forgiven 
I  shall  be  sure  to  meet  old  Daniel  Gray." 

The  night  came  without  coolness,  but  at  daylight 
on  Monday  morning  a  fire  was  pleasant.  You  will 
now  have  some  idea  of  my  surroundings.  It  is  a 
moral,  hard,  unloving,  unlovely,  unrelieved,  un- 


LETTER  v.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  57 

beautified,  grinding  life.  These  people  live  in  a 
discomfort  and  lack  of  ease  and  refinement  which 
seems  only  possible  to  people  of  British  stock.  A 
'  foreigner"  fills  his  cabin  with  ingenuities  and 
elegancies,  and  a  Hawaiian  or  South  Sea  Islandei 
makes  his  grass  house  both  pretty  and  tasteful.  Add 
to  my  surroundings  a  mighty  canyon,  impassable 
both  above  and  below,  and  walls  of  mountains  with 
an  opening  some  miles  off  to  the  vast  prairie  sea.1 

An  English  physician  is  settled  about  half  a  mile 
from  here  over  a  hill.  He  is  spoken  off  as  holding 
'  very  extreme  opinions."  Chalmers  rails  at  him  for 
being  "  a  thick-skulled  Englishman,"  for  being  "  fine, 
polished,"  etc.  To  say  a  man  is  "  polished  "  here  is 
to  give  him  a  very  bad  name.  He  accuses  him  also 
of  holding  views  subversive  of  all  morality.  In  spite 
of  all  this,  I  thought  he  might  possess  a  map,  and  I 
induced  Mrs.  C.  to  walk  over  with  me.  She  intended 
it  as  a  formal  morning  call,  but  she  wore  the  inevitable 
sun-bonnet,  and  had  her  dress  tied  up  as  when  wash- 
ing. It  wa.°  not  till  I  reached  the  gate  that  I  remem- 
bered that  I  was  in  my  Hawaiian  riding-dress,  and 
that  I  still  wore  the  spurs  with  which  I  had  been 
trying  a  horse  in  the  morning !  The  house  was  in  a 

1  I  have  uot  curtailed  this  description  of  the  roughness  cf  a 
Colorado  settler's  life,  for,  with  the  exceptions  of  the  disrepair  and 
the  Puritanism,  it  is  a  type  of  the  hard,  unornamented  existence 
with  which  I  came  almost  universally  in  contact  during  my  tab* 
•eqnent  residence  in  the  Territory. 


58  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  v 

grass  valley  which  opened  from  the  tremendous 
canyon  through  which  the  river  had  cut  its  way. 
The  Foot  Hills,  with  their  terraces  of  flaming  red 
rock,  were  glowing  in  the  sunset,  and  a  pure  green 
gky  arched  tenderly  over  a  soft  evening  scene.  Used 
to  the  meanness  and  baldness  of  settlers'  dwellings, 
I  was  delighted  to  see  that  in  this  instance  the  usual 
log  cabin  was  only  the  lower  floor  of  a  small  house, 
which  bore  a  delightful  resemblance  to  a  Swiss  chalet, 
It  stood  in  a  vegetable  garden  fertilised  by  an  irrigat- 
ing ditch,  outside  of  which  were  a  barn  and  cowshed. 
A  young  Swiss  girl  was  bringing  the  cows  slowly 
home  from  the  hill,  an  Englishwoman  in  a  clean  print 
dress  stood  by  the  fence  holding  a  baby,  and  a  fine- 
looking  Englishman  in  a  striped  Garibaldi  shirt,  and 
trousers  of  the  same  tucked  into  high  boots,  was 
shelling  corn.  As  soon  as  Mrs.  Hughes  spoke  I  felt 
she  was  truly  a  lady ;  and  oh !  how  refreshing  her 
refined,  courteous,  graceful  English  manner  was,  as 
she  invited  us  into  the  house!  The  entrance  was 
low,  through  a  log  porch  festooned  and  almost  con- 
cealed by  a  "  wild  cucumber."  Inside,  though  plain 
and  poor,  the  room  looked  a  home,  not  like  a 
squatter's  cabin.  An  old  tin  was  completely  covered 
by  a  graceful  clematis  mixed  with  streamers  of  Vir- 
ginia creeper,  and  white  muslin  curtains,  and  above 
all  two  shelves  of  admirably-chosen  bocks,  gave  the 
room  almost  an  air  of  elegance.  Why  do  I  write 


* 
LETTER  v.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  59 

almost  ?  It  was  an  oasis.  It  was  barely  three 
weeks  since  I  had  loft  "  the  communion  of  educated 
mei ,"  and  the  first  tones  of  the  voices  of  my  host 
and  hostess  made  me  feel  as  if  I  had  been  out  of  it 
for  a  year.  Mrs.  C.  stayed  an  hour  and  a  half,  and 
then  went  home  to  the  cows,  when  we  launched  upon 
a  sea  of  congenial  talk.  They  said  they  had  not  seen 
an  educated  lady  for  two  years,  and  pressed  me  to  go 
and  visit  them.  I  rode  home  on  Dr.  Hughes's  horse 
after  dark,  to  find  neither  fire  nor  light  in  the  cabin. 
Mrs.  C.  had  gone  back  saying,  "  Those  English  talked 
just  like  savages,  I  couldn't  understand  a  word  they 
said."  I  made  a  fire,  and  extemporised  a  light  with 
some  fat  and  a  wick  of  rag,  and  Chalmers  came  in  to 
discuss  my  visit  and  to  ask  me  a  question  concerning 
a  matter  which  had  roused  the  latent  curiosity  of  the 
whole  family.  I  had  told  him,  he  said,  that  I  knew  no 
one  hereabouts,  but  "  his  woman  "  told  him  that  Dr. 
H.  and  I  spoke  constantly  of  a  Mrs.  Grundy,  whom 
we  both  knew  and  disliked,  and  who  was  settled,  a& 
we  said,  not  far  off !  He  had  never  heard  of  her,  he 
eaid,  and  he  was  the  pioneer  settler  of  the  canyon, 
and  there  was  a  man  up  here  from  Longmount  who 
said  he  was  sure  there  was  not  a  Mrs.  Grundy  in  the 
district,  unless  it  was  a  woman  who  went  by  two 
names !  The  wife  and  family  had  then  come  in,  and  I 
felt  completely  nonplussed.  I  longed  to  tell  Chalmers 
that  it  was  he  and  such  as  he,  there  or  anywhere^ 


60  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LET™  v. 

with  narrow  hearts,  bitter  tongues,  and  harsh  judg- 
ments, who  were  the  true  "  Mrs.  Grundys,"  dwarfing 
individuality,  checking  lawful  freedom  of  speech,  and 
making  men  "  offenders  for  a  word,"  but  I  forebore. 
How  1  extricated  myself  from  the  difficulty,  deponent 
sayeth  not.  The  rest  of  the  evening  has  been  spent 
in  preparing  to  cross  the  mountains.  Chalmers  says 
he  knows  the  way  well,  and  that  we  shall  sleep  to- 
morrow at  the  foot  of  Long's  Peak.  Mrs.  Chalmers 
repents  of  having  consented,  and  conjures  up  doleful 
visions  of  what  the  family  will  come  to  when  left 
headless,  and  of  disasters  among  the  cows  and  hens. 
I  could  tell  her  that  the  eldest  son  and  the  "  hired 
man  "  have  plotted  to  close  the  saw-mill  and  go  on  a 
hunting  and  fishing  expedition,  that  the  cows  will 
stray,  and  that  the  individual  spoken  respectfully  of 
as  "  Mr.  Skunk  "  will  make  havoc  in  the  hen-house. 

NAMELESS  REGION,  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS,  September. 
This  is  indeed  far  removed.  It  seems  farther 
away  from  you  than  any  place  I  have  been  to  yet, 
except  the  frozen  top  of  the  volcano  of  Mauna  Loa. 
It  is  so  little  profaned  by  man  that  if  one  were  com- 
pelled to  live  here  in  solitude  one  might  truly  say  of 
the  bears,  deer,  and  elk  which  abound,  "  Their  tame- 
ness  is  shocking  to  me."  It  is  the  world  of  "big 
game."  Just  now  a  heavy-headed  elk,  with  much- 
branched  horns  fully  three  feet  long,  stood  and  looked 


LETTEK  v.  THE  KOCKY   MOUNTAINS.  61 

at  me,  and  then  quietly  trotted  away.  He  was  s< 
near  that  I  heard  the  grass,  crisp  with  hoar  frost, 
crackle  under  his  feet.  Bears  stripped  the  cherry- 
bushes  within  a  few  yards  of  us  last  night.  Now 
two  lovely  blue  birds,  with  crests  on  their  heads,  are 
picking  about  within  a  stone's -throw.  This  is  "  The 
Great  Lone  Land,"  until  lately  the  hunting-ground  of 
the  Indians,  and  not  yet  settled  or  traversed,  or  likely 
to  be  so,  owing  to  the  want  of  water.  A  solitary 
hunter  has  built  a  log  cabin  up  here,  which  he  occu- 
pies for  a  few  weeks  for  the  purpose  of  elk-hunting 
but  all  the  region  is  unsurveyed,  and  mostly  unex- 
plored. It  is  7  A.M.  The  sun  has  not  yet  risen  high 
enough  to  melt  the  hoar-frost,  and  the  air  is  clear, 
bright,  and  cold.  The  stillness  is  profound.  I  hear 
nothing  but  the  far-off  mysterious  roaring  of  a  river 
in  a  deep  canyon,  which  we  spent  two  hours  last 
night  in  trying  to  find.  The  horses  are  lost,  and  if  I 
were  disposed  to  retort  upon  my  companions  the 
term  they  invariably  apply  to  me,  I  should  now 
write,  with  bitter  emphasis,  "  that  man  "  and  "  that 
woman  "  have  gone  in  search  of  them. 

The  scenery  up  here  is  glorious,  combining  sub- 
limity with  beauty,  and  in  the  elastic  air  fatigue  has 
dropped  off  from  me.  This  is  no  region  for  tourists 
and  women,  only  for  a  few  elk  and  bear  hunters  at 
times,  and  its  unprofaned  freshness  gives  me  new 
life.  I  eannot  by  any  words  give  you  an  idea  of 


62  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  v. 

scenery  so  different  from  any  that  you  or  I  have 
ever  seen.  This  is  an  upland  valley  of  grass  and 
flowers,  of  glades  and  sloping  lawns,  and  cherry- 
fringed  beds  of  dry  streams,  and  clumps  of  pines 
artistically  placed,  and  mountain  sides  densely  pine- 
clad,  the  pines  breaking  into  fringes  as  they  come 
down  upon  the  "park,"  and  the  mountains  breaking 
into  pinnacles  of  bold  grey  rock  as  they  pierce  the 
blue  of  the  sky.  A  single  dell  of  bright  green  grass, 
on  which  dwarf  clumps  of  the  scarlet  poison-oak  look 
like  beds  of  geraniums,  slopes  towards  the  west,  as  if 
it  must  lead  to  the  river  which  we  seek.  Deep,  vast 
Canyons,  all  trending  westwards,  lie  in  purple  gloom. 
Pine-clad  ranges,  rising  into  the  blasted  top  of  Storm 
Pe^k,  all  run  westwards  too,  and  all  the  beauty  and 
glory  are  but  the  frame  out  of  which  rises — heaven- 
piercing,  pure  in  its  pearly  lustre,  as  glorious  a 
mountain  as  the  sun  tinges  red  in  either  hemisphere- 
— the  splintered,  pinnacled,  lonely,  ghastly,  impos- 
ing, double-peaked  summit  of  Long's  Peak,  the  Mont 
Blanc  of  Northern  Colorado.1 

This  is  a  view  to  which  nothing  needs  to  be 
added.  This  is  truly  the  "lodge  in  some  vast  wil- 
derness" for  which  one  often  sighs  when  in  the  midst 

1  Gray's  Peak  and  Pike's  Peak  have  their  partisans,  but  after 
•ceing  them  all  under  favourable  aspects,  Long's  Peak  stands  in  my 
memory  as  it  does  in  that  vast  congeries  of  mountains,  alone  in 
Imperial  grandeur. 


•UEITKK  v.  THE  UOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  63 

of  '•  a  bustle  at  once  sordid  and  trivial."  In  spite  of 
Dr.  Johnson,  these  "  monstrous  protuberances "  do 
4t  inflame  the  imagination  and  elevate  the  under- 
standing." This  scenery  satisfies  my  soul.  Now,  the 
Rocky  Mountains  realise — nay,  exceed — the  dream 
of  my  childhood.  It  is  magnificent,  and  the  air  is 
life-giving.  I  should  like  to  spend  some  time  in 
these  higher  regions,  but  I  know  that  this  will  turn 
out  an  abortive  expedition,  owing  to  the  stupidity 
and  pigheadedness  of  Chalmers. 

There  is  a  most  romantic  place  called  Estes  Park, 
At  a  height  of  7500  feet,  which  can  be  reached  by 
going  down  to  the  plains  and  then  striking  up  the 
St.  Vrain  Canyon,  but  this  is  a  distance  of  55  miles, 
and  as  Chalmers  was  confident  that  he  could  take 
me  over  the  mountains,  a  distance,  as  he  supposed, 
of  about  20  miles,  we  left  at  mid-day  yesterday, 
with  the  fervent  hope,  on  my  part,  that  I  might 
not  return.  Mrs.  C.  was  busy  the  whole  of  Tuesday 
in  preparing  what  she  called  "  grub,"  which,  together 
with  "  plenty  of  bedding,"  was  to  be  carried  on  a 
pack  mule ;  but  when  we  started  I  was  disgusted  to 
find  that  Chalmers  was  on  what  should  have  been 
the  pack  animal,  and  that  two  thickly-quilted  cotton 
"  spreads "  had  been  disposed  of  under  my  saddle, 
making  it  broad'  high,  and  uncomfortable.  Any 
human  being  must  have  laughed  to  see  an  expedi- 
tion start  so  grotesquely  "  ill  found."  I  had  a  very 


54  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  v 

old  iron-grey  horse,  whose  lower  lip  hung  down 
feehly,  showing  his  few  teeth,  while  his  fore-legs 
stuck  out  forwards,  and  matter  ran  from  both  hia 
nearly-blind  eyes.  It  is  a  kindness  to  bring  him  up 
to  abundant  pasture.  My  saddle  is  an  old  McLellao 
cavalry  saddle,  with  a  battered  brass  peak,  and  the 
bridle  is  a  rotten  leather  strap  on  one  side  and  a 
strand  of  rope  on  the  other.  The  cotton  quilts 
covered  the  Eosinante  from  mane  to  tail.  Mrs.  C. 
wore  an  old  print  skirt,  an  old  short-gown,  a  print 
apron,  and  a  sun-bonnet,  with  the  flap  coming  down 
to  her  waist,  and  looked  as  careworn  and  clean  as 
she  always  does.  The  inside  horn  of  her  saddle  was 
broken;  to  the  outside  one  hung  a  saucepan  and  a 
bundle  of  clothes.  The  .one  girth  was  nearly  at  the 
breaking-point  when  we  started. 

My  pack,  with  my  well-worn  umbrella  upon  it. 
was  behind  my  saddle.  I  wore  my  Hawaiian  riding- 
dress,  with  a  handkerchief  tied  over  my  face  and  the 
sun-cover  of  my  umbrella  folded  and  tied  over  my 
hat,  for  the  sun  was  very  fierce.  The  queerest  figure 
of  all  was  the  would-be  guide.  With  his  one  eye, 
his  gaunt,  lean  form,  and  his  torn  clothes,  he  looked 
more  like  a  strolling  tinker  than  the  honest  worthy 
settler  that  he  is.  He  bestrode  rather  than  rode  a 
gaunt  mule,  whose  tail  hair  had  all  been  shaven  off, 
except  a  tuft  for  a  tassel  at  the  end.  Two  flour  baga 
which  leaked  were  tied  on  behind  the  saddle,  two 


LETTER  v.  TUB  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  05 

quilts  were  under  it,  and  my  canvas  bag,  a  battered 
canteen,  a  frying-pan,  and  two  lariats  hung  from  tne 
horn.  On  one  foot  C.  wore  an  old  high  boot,  into 
which  his  trouser  was  tucked,  and  on  the  other  aa 
old  brogue,  through  which  his  toes  protruded. 

We  had  an  ascent  of  four  hours  through  a  ravine 
which  gradually  opened  out  upon  this  beautiful 
"  park,"  but  we  rode  through  it  for  some  miles  before 
the  view  burst  upon  us.  The  vastness  of  this  range, 
like  astronomical  distances,  can  hardly  be  conceived 
of.  At  this  place,  I  suppose,  it  is  not  less  than  250 
miles  wide,  and  with  hardly  a  break  in  its  continuity, 
it  stretches  almost  from  the  Arctic  circle  to  the 
Straits  of  Magellan.  From  the  top  of  Long's  Peak, 
within  a  short  distance,  twenty-two  summits,  each 
above  12,000  feet  hi  height,  are  visible,  and  the 
Snowy  Range,  the  backbone  or  "  divide "  of  the 
continent,  is  seen  snaking  distinctly  through  the 
wilderness  of  ranges,  with  its  waters  starting  fo? 
either  ocean.  From  the  first  ridge  we  crossed  after 
leaving  Canyon  we  had  a  singular  view  of  range 
beyond  range  cleft  by  deep  canyons,  and  abounding 
in  elliptical  valleys,  richly  grassed.  The  slopes  of 
all  the  hills,  as  far  as  one  could  see,  were  waving 
with  fine  grass  ready  for  the  scythe,  but  the  food 
of  wild  animals  only.  All  these  ridges  are  heavily 
timbered  with  pitch  pines,  and  where  they  come 
down  on  the  grassy  slopes  they  look  as  if  the  tree* 

I 


•66  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LKTTEK  v. 

had  been  arranged  by  a  landscape  gardener.  Far 
off,  through  an  opening  in  a  canyon,  we  saw  the 
prairie  simulating  the  ocean.  Far  off,  through  an 
opening  in  another  direction,  was  the  glistening  out- 
line of  the  Snowy  Kange.  But  still,  till  we  reached 
this  place,  it  was  monotonous,  though  grand  as  a 
whole :  a  grey-green  or  buff-grey,  with  outbreaks  of 
brilliantly-coloured  rock,  only  varied  by  the  black 
green  of  pines,  which  are  not  the  stately  pyramidal 
pines  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  but  much  resemble  the 
natural  Scotch  fir.  Not  many  miles  from  us  is  Nort> 
Park,  a  great  tract  of  land  said  to  be  rich  in  gc'.J, 
but  those  who  have  gone  to  "  prospect "  have  seldom 
returned,  the  region  being  the  home  of  tribes  of 
Indians  who  live  in  perpetual  hostility  to  the  whites 
and  to  each  other. 

At  this  great  height,  and  most  artistically  situated, 
we  came  upon  a  rude  log  camp  tenanted  in  winter  by 
an  elk  hunter,  but  now  deserted.  Chalmers  without 
any  scruple  picked  the  padlock  ;  we  lighted  a  lire, 
made  some  tea,  and  fried  some  bacon,  and  after  a 
good  meal  mounted  again  and  started  foi  Estes  Park 
For  four  weary  hours  we  searched  hither  and  thither 
along  every  indentation  of  the  ground  which  might 
be  supposed  to  slope  towards  the  Big  Thompson 
River,  which  we  knew  had  to  be  forded.  Still,  as 
the  quest  grew  more  tedious,  Long's  Peak  stood  be- 
fore us  as  a  landmark  in  purple  glory ;  and  still  at 


BAD    FOOTING    FOR    HORSES. 

(Page  68; 


LETTER  v.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  67 

his  feet  lay  a  hollow  filled  with  deep  blue  atmosphere, 
where  I  knew  that  Estes  Park  must  lie,  and  still 
between  us  and  it  lay  never-lessening  miles  of  inac- 
cessibility, and  the  sun  was  ever  westering,  and  the 
shadows  ever  lengthening,  and  Chalmers,  who  had 
started  confident;,  bumptious,  blatant,  was  ever  be- 
coming more  bewildered,  and  his  wife's  thin  voice 
more  piping  and  discontented,  and  my  stumbling 
horse  more  insecure,  and  I  more  determined  (as  I 
am  at  this  moment)  that  somehow  or  other  I  would 
reach  that  blue  hollow,  and  even  stand  on  Long's 
Peak  where  the  snow  was  glittering.  Affairs  were 
becoming  serious,  and  Chalmers's  incompetence  a 
source  of  real  peril,  when,  after  an  exploring  expedi- 
tion, he  returned  more  bumptious  than  ever,  saying 
he  knew  it  would  be  all  right,  he  had  found  a  trail, 
and  we  could  get  across  the  river  by  dark,  and  camp 
out  for  the  night.  So  he  led  us  into  a  steep,  deep, 
rough  ravine,  where  we  had  to  dismount,  for  trees 
were  lying  across  it  everywhere,  and  there  was  almost 
no  footing  on  the  great  slabs  of  shelving  rock.  Yet 
there  was  a  trail,  tolerably  well  worn,  and  the  branches 
.and  twigs  near  the  ground  were  well  broken  back. 
Ah  !  it  was  a  wild  place.  My  horse  fell  first,  rolling 
over  twice,  and  breaking  off  a  part  of  the  saddle,  in 
his  second  roll  knocking  me  over  a  shelf  of  three  feet 
of  descent.  T*  en  Mrs  C.'s.  horse  and  the  mule  fell 
on  the  top  tf  iach  other,  and  on  recovering  them- 


08  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEHEB  * 

selves  bit  each  other  savagely.  The  ravine  became 
a  wild  gulch,  the  dry  bed  of  some  awful  torrent; 
there  were  huge  shelves  of  rock,  great  overhanging 
walls  of  rock,  great  prostrate  trees,  cedar  spikes  and 
cacti  to  wound  the  feet,  and  then  a  precipice  fully 
500  feet  deep !  The  trail  was  a  trail  made  by  bears 
in  search  of  bear*cherries,  which  abounded ! 

It  was  getting  dusk  as  we  had  to  struggle  up  the 
rough  gulch  we  had  so  fatuously  descended.  The 
horses  fell  several  times ;  I  could  hardly  get  mine  up 
at  all,  though  I  helped  him  as  much  as  I  could ;  I 
was  cut  and  bruised,  scratched  and  torn.  A  spine  of 
a  cactus  penetrated  my  foot,  and  some  vicious  thing 
cut  the  back  of  my  neck.  Poor  Mrs.  C.  was  much 
bruised,  and  I  pitied  her,  for  she  got  no  fun  out  of 
it  as  I  did.  It  was  an  awful  climb.  When  we  got 
out  of  the  gulch,  C.  was  so  confused  that  he  took  the 
wrong  direction,  and  after  an  hour  of  vague  wander- 
ing was  only  recalled  to  the  right  one  by  my  perti- 
nacious assertions  acting  on  his  weak  brain.  I  was 
inclined  to  be  angry  with  the  incompetent  braggart, 
who  had  boasted  that  he  could  take  us  to  Estes  Park 
"blindfold;"  but  I  was  sorry  for  him  too,  so  said 
nothing,  even  though  I  had  to  walk  during  these 
meanderings  to  save  my  tired  horse.  When  at  lastv 
at  dark,  we  reached  the  open,  there  was  a  snow-flu  rry> 
with  violent  gusts  of  wind,  and  the  shelter  of  the 
samp,  dark  and  cold  as  it  was,  was  desirable.  We 


ETTER  v.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  69 

had  no  food,  but  made  a  fire.  I  lay  down  on  some 
dry  grass,  with  my  inverted  saddle  for  a  pillow,  and 
slept  soundly,  till  I  was  awoke  by  the  cold  of  an 
intense  frost  and  the  pain  of  my  many  cuts  and 
bruises.  Chalmers  promised  that  we  should  make  a 
fresh  start  at  six,  so  I  woke  him  at  five,  and  here  I 
am  alone  at  half-past  eight!  I  said  to  him  many 
times  that  unless  he  hobbled  or  picketed  the  horses, 
we  should  lose  them.  "  Oh,"  he  said,  "  they'll  be  all 
right."  In  truth  he  had  no  picketing-pins.  Now, 
the  animals  are  merrily  trotting  homewards.  I  saw 
them  two  miles  off  an  hour  ago  with  him  after  them. 
His  wife,  who  is  also  after  them,  goaded  to  despera- 
tion, said, "  He's  the  most  ignorant,  careless,  good-for- 
nothing  man  I  ever  saw,"  upon  which  I  dwelt  upon 
his  being  well-meaning.  There  is  a  sort  of  well  here, 
but  our  "afternoon  tea"  and  watering  the  horses 
drained  it,  so  we  have  had  nothing  to  drink  since 
yesterday,  for  the  canteen,  which  started  without  a 
cork,  lost  all  its  contents  when  the  mule  fell.  I  have 
made  a  monstrous  fire,  but  thirst  and  impatience  are 
hard  to  bear,  and  preventible  misfortunes  are  always 
irksome.  I  have  found  the  stomach  of  a  bear  with 
fully  a  pint  of  cherrystones  in  it,  and  have  spent  an 
hour  in  getting  the  kernels;  and  lo !  now,  at  half- 
oast  nine,  I  see  the  culprit  and  his  wife  coming  back 
with  the  animals  I 


7C  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  T 

LOWER  CANYON,  September  21. 
We  never  reached  Estes  Park.  There  is  no  trail 
and  horses  have  never  been  across.  We  started  from 
camp  at  ten,  and  spent  four  hours  in  searching  for  the 
trail.  Chalmers  tried  gulch  after  gulch  again,  his  self- 
assertion  giving  way  a  little  after  each  failure ;  some- 
times going  east  when  we  should  have  gone  west, 
always  being  brought  up  by  a  precipice  or  other  im- 
possibility. At  last  he  went  off  by  himself,  and 
returned  rejoicing,  saying  he  had  found  the  trail; 
and  soon,  sure  enough,  we  were  on  a  well-defined  old 
trail,  evidently  made  by  carcasses  which  have  been 
dragged  along  it  by  hunters.  Vainly  I  pointed  out 
to  him  that  we  were  going  north-east  when  we  should 
have  gone  south-west,  and  that  we  were  ascending 
instead  of  descending.  "  Oh,  it's  all  right,  and  we 
shall  soon  come  to  water,"  he  always  replied.  For 
two  hours  we  ascended  slowly  through  a  thicket  of 
aspen,  the  cold  continually  intensifying ;  but  the 
trail,  which  had  been  growing  fainter,  died  out,  and 
an  opening  showed  the  top  of  Storm  Peak  not  far 
off  and  not  much  above  us,  though  it  is  11,000  feet 
high.  I  could  not  help  laughing.  He  had  delibe- 
rately turned  his  back  on  Estes  Park.  He  then  con- 
fessed that  he  was  lost,  and  that  he  could  not  find 
the  way  back.  His  wife  sat  down  on  the  ground  and 
cried  bitterly.  We  ate  some  dry  bread,  and  then  I 


LETTER  v.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  7l 

said  I  had  had  much  experience  in  travelling,  and 
would  take  the  control  of  the  party,  which  was  agreed 
to,  and  we  began  the  long  descent.  Soon  after  his 
wife  was  thrown  from  her  horse,  and  cried  bitterly 
again  from  fright  and  mortification.  Soon  after  that 
the  girth  of  the  mule's  saddle  broke,  and  having  no 
crupper,  saddle  and  addenda  went  over  his  head,  and 
the  flour  was  dispersed.  Next  the  girth  of  the  woman's 
saddle  broke,  and  she  went  over  her  horse's  head. 
Then  he  began  to  fumble  helplessly  at  it,  railing 
against  England  the  whole  time,  while  I  secured  the 
saddle,  and  guided  the  route  back  to  an  outlet  of 
the  paik.  There  a  fire  was  built,  and  we  had  some 
bread  and  bacon ;  and  then  a  search  for  water  occu- 
pied nearly  two  hours,  and  resulted  in  the  finding  of 
a  mud-hole,  trodden  and  defiled  by  hundreds  of  feet 
of  elk,  bears,  cats,  deer,  and  other  beasts,  and  contain- 
ing only  a  few  gallons  of  water  as  thick  as  pea-soup, 
with  which  we  watered  our  animals  and  made  some 
strong  tea. 

The  sun  was  setting  in  glory  as  we  started  for  the 
four  hours'  ride  home,  and  the  frost  was  intense,  and 
made  our  bruised,  grazed  limbs  ache  painfully.  I 
was  sorry  for  Mrs.  Chalmers,  who  had  had  several 
falls,  and  bore  her  aches  patiently,  and  had  said  several 
times  to  her  husband,  with  a  kind  meaning,  "  I  am 
real  sorry  for  this  woman."  I  was  so  tired  with  the 
perpetual  stumbling  of  my  horse,  as  well  as  stiffened 


72  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LBITER  r. 


the  bitter  cold,  that  I  walked  for  the  last  houi 
or  two  ;  and  Chalmers,  as  if  to  cover  his  failure,  in- 
dulged in  loud,  incessant  talk,  abusing  all  other  reli- 
gionists, and  railing  against  England  in  the  coarsest 
American  fashion.  Yet,  after  all,  they  were  not  bad 
souls;  and  though  he  failed  so  grotesquely,  he  did 
his  incompetent  best.  The  log-fire  in  the  ruinous 
cabin  was  cheery,  and  I  kept  it  up  all  night,  and 
watched  the  stars  through  the  holes  in  the  roof,  and 
thought  of  Long's  Peak  in  its  glorious  solitude,  and 
resolved  that,  come  what  might,  I  would  reach  Eotes 
Park. 


THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAIN  a,  73 


LETTEE   VL 

4  bronco  Mare — An  Accident — Wonderland — A  Sad  Story— Tl* 
Children  of  the  Territories — Hard  Greed — Halcyon  Hours — 
Smartness— Old-fashioned  Prejudices — The  Chicago  Colony — 
Good  luck — Three  Notes  of  Admiration— A  good  Horse — The 
St.  Vrain— The  Rocky  Mountains  at  last—"  Mountain  Jim"— A 
death  hug— Estes  Park. 

LOWER  CANYON,  September  25. 

THIS  is  another  world.  My  entrance  upon  it  was  sig- 
nalised in  this  fashion.  Chalmers  offered  me  a  bronco 
mare  for  a  reasonable  sum,  and  though  she  was  a  shifty, 
half-broken  young  thing,  I  came  over  here  on  her  to 
try  her,  when,  just  as  I  was  Sfoing  away,  she  took  into 
her  head  to  "  scare"  and  "  buck,"  and  when  I  touched 
her  with  my  foot  she  leaped  over  a  heap  of  timber, 
and  the  girth  gave  way,  and  the  onlookers  tell  me 
that  while  she  jumped  I  fell  over  her  tail  from  a  good 
height  upon  the  hard  gravel,  receiving  a  parting  kick 
on  my  knee.  They  could  hardly  believe  that  no  bones 
were  broken.  The  flesh  of  my  left  arm  looks  crushed 
into  a  jelly,  but  cold-water  dressings  will  soon  bring 
it  right ;  and  a  cut  on  my  back  bled  profusely ;  and 
the  bleeding,  with  many  bruises  and  the  general 
shake,  have  made  me  feel  weak,  but  eircumstanrea 


74  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vr 

do  not  admit  of  "  making  a  fuss,"  and  I  really  think 
that  the  rents  in  my  riding-dress  will  prove  the  most 
important  part  of  the  accident. 

The  surroundings  here  are  pleasing.  The  log  cabin, 
on  the  top  of  which  a  room  with  a  steep,  ornamental 
Swiss  roof  has  been  built,  is  in  a  valley  close  to  a 
clear,  rushing  river,  which  emerges  a  little  higher  up 
from  an  inaccessible  chasm  of  great  sublimity.  One 
side  of  the  valley  is  formed  by  cliffs  and  terraces  of 
porphyry  as  red  as  the  reddest  new  brick,  and  at 
sunset  blazing  into  vermilion.  Through  rifts  in  the 
nearer  ranges  there  are  glimpses  of  pine-clothed  peaks, 
which,  towards  twilight,  pass  through  every  shade  of 
purple  and  violet.  The  sky  and  the  earth  combine  to 
form  a  "Wonderland  every  evening — such  rich,  velvety 
colouring  in  crimson  and  violet;  such  an  orange,  greenr 
and  vermilion  sky ;  such  scarlet  and  emerald  clouds  ; 
such  an  extraordinary  dryness  and  purity  of  atmo- 
sphere, and  then  the  glorious  afterglow  which  seems  to 
blend  earth  and  heaven  !  For  colour,  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains beat  all  I  have  seen.  The  air  has  been  cold, 
but  the  sun  bright  and  hot  during  the  last  few  days. 

The  story  of  my  host  is  a  story  of  misfortune.  It 
indicates  who  should  not  come  to  Colorado.1  He  and 

1  The  story  is  ended  now.  A  few  months  after  my  visit  Mrs.  H. 
died  a  few  days  after  her  confinement,  and  was  buried  on  the  bleak 
hill-side,  leaving  her  husband  with  five  children  under  six  year* 
old,  and  Dr.  H.  is  a  prosperous  man  on  one  of  the  sunniest  islatult 
of  tha  Pacific,  with  the  devoted  Swiss  friend  as  his  second  wife. 


1.EMEKV1.  TUB  KOUKY  MOUflTAliNiS.  <5 

his  wife  are  under  thirty-five.  The  son  of  a  London 
physician  in  large  practice,  with  a  liberal  education 
in  the  largest  sense  of  the  word,  unusual  culture  and 
accomplishments,  and  the  partner  of  a  physician  in 
good  practice  in  the  second  city  in  England,  he  showed 
symptoms  which  threatened  pulmonary  disease.  In 
an  evil  hour  he  heard  of  Colorado  with  its  "  un- 
rivalled climate,  boundless  resources,"  etc.,  and,  fas- 
cinated not  only  by  these  material  advantages,  but 
by  the  notion  of  being  able  to  found  or  reform  society 
on  advanced  social  theories  of  his  own,  he  became  an 
emigrant.  Mrs.  Hughes  is  one  of  the  most  charming 
cultured,  and  lovable  women  I  have  ever  seen,  and 
their  marriage  is  an  ideal  one.  Both  are  fitted  to- 
shine  in  any  society,  but  neither  had  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  domestic  and  farming  details.  Dr.  H. 
did  not  know  how  to  saddle  or  harness  a  horse.  Mrs. 
H.  did  not  know  whether  you  should  put  an  egg  into 
cold  or  hot  water  when  you  meant  to  boil  it !  They 
arrived  at  Longmount,  bought  up  this  claim,  rather 
for  the  beauty  of  the  scenery  than  for  any  substantial 
advantages,  were  cheated  in  land,  goods,  oxen,  every- 
thing, and,  to  the  discredit  of  the  settlers,  seemed  to  be 
regarded  as  fair  game.  Everything  has  failed  with 
them,  and  though  they  "  rise  early,  and  late  take  rest, 
and  eat  the  bread  of  carefulness,"  they  hardly  keep 
their  heads  above  water.  A  young  Swiss  girl,  devoted 
to  them  both,  works  as  hard  as  they  do.  Th  ?y  have- 


76  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 


LETTER  VI. 


one  horse,  no  waggon,  some  poultry,  and  a  few  cows, 
but  no  "  hired  man."  It  is  the  hardest  and  least  ideal 
struggle  that  I  have  ever  seen  made  by  educated 
people.  They  had  all  their  experience  to  learn,  and 
they  have  bought  it  by  losses  and  hardships.  That 
they  have  learnt  so  much  surprises  me.  Dr.  H.  and 
these  two  ladies  built  the  upper  room  and  the  addi- 
tion to  the  house  without  help.  He  has  cropped  the 
land  himself,  and  has  learned  the  difficult  art  of  milk- 
ing cows.  Mrs.  H.  makes  all  the  clothes  required  foi 
a  family  of  six,  and  her  evenings,  when  the  hard  day's 
work  is  done  and  she  is  ready  to  drop  from  fatigue, 
are  spent  in  mending  and  patching.  The  day  is  one 
long  grind,  without  rest  or  enjoyment,  or  the  pleasure 
of  chance  intercourse  with  cultivated  people.  The 
few  visitors  who  have  "  happened  in"  are  the  thrifty 
wives  of  prosperous  settlers,  full  of  housewifely  pride, 
whose  one  object  seems  to  be  to  make  Mrs.  H.  feel 
her  inferiority  to  themselves.  I  wish  she  did  take  a 
more  genuine  interest  in  the  "coming-on"  of  the  last 
calf,  the  prospects  of  the  squash  crop,  and  the  yield 
and  price  of  butter ;  but  though  she  has  learned  to 
make  excellent  butter  and  bread,  it  is  all  against  the 
grain.  The  children  are  delightful.  The  little  boys 
are  refined,  courteous,  childish  gentlemen,  with  love 
and  tenderness  to  their  parents  in  all  their  words  and 
actions.  Never  a  rough  or  harsh  word  is  heard  with- 
in the  house.  But  the  atmosphere  of  struggles  and 


BUTTER  vi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  77 

difficulties  has  already  told  on  these  infants.  They 
consider  their  mother  in  all  things,  going  without 
butter  when  they  think  the  stock  is  low,  bringing  IE 
wood  and  water  too  heavy  for  them  to  carry,  anxiousli 
speculating  on  the  winter  prospect  and  the  crops,  ye 
withal  the  most  childlike  and  innocent  of  children. 

One  of  the  most  painful  things  in  the  Westen 
States  and  Territories  is  the  extinction  of  childhood 
I  have  never  seen  any  children,  only  debased  imita- 
tions of  men  and  women,  cankered  by  greed  and  self- 
ishness, and  asserting  and  gaining  complete  inde- 
pendence of  their  parents  at  ten  years  old.  The  atmo- 
sphere in  which  they  are  brought  up  is  one  of  greed, 
godlessness,  and  frequently  of  profanity.  Consequently 
these  sweet  things  seem  like  flowers  in  a  desert. 

Except  for  love,  which  here  as  everywhere  raises 
life  into  the  ideal,  this  is  a  wretched  existence.  The 
poor  crops  have  been  destroyed  by  grasshoppers  over 
and  over  again,  and  that  talent  deified  here  under 
the  name  of  "  smartness"  has  taken  advantage  of  Dr. 
H.  in  all  bargains,  leaving  him  with  little  except  food 
for  his  children.  Experience  has  been  dearly  bought 
in  all  ways,  and  this  instance  of  failure  might  be  a 
useful  warning  to  professional  men  without  agricul- 
tural experience  not  to  come  and  try  to  make  a  living 
by  farming  in  Colorado. 

My  time  here  has  passed  very  delightfully  in  spite 
of  my  regret  and  anxiety  for  this  interesting  family 


fS  A    LADY'S    LIFE   IK  LETTEB  VI. 

I  should  like  to  stay  longer,  were  it  not  that  they 
have  given  up  to  me  their  straw  bed,  and  Mrs  H, 
and  her  baby,  a  wizened,  fretful  child,  sleep  on  the 
floor  in  my  room,  and  Dr.  H.  on  the  floor  downstairs, 
and  the  nights  are  frosty  and  chill.  Work  is  the 
order  of  their  day,  and  of  mine,  and  at  night,  when 
the  children  are  in  bed,  we  three  ladies  patch  the 
clothes  and  make  shirts,  and  Dr.  H.  reads  Tennyson's 
poems,  or  we  speak  tenderly  of  that  world  of  culture 
and  noble  deeds  which  seems  here  "  the  land  very  far 
off,"  or  Mrs.  H.  lays  aside  her  work  for  a  few  minutes 
and  reads  some  favourite  passage  of  prose  or  poetry, 
as  I  have  seldom  heard  either  read  before,  with  a 
voice  of  large  compass  and  exquisite  tone,  quick  to 
interpret  every  shade  of  the  author's  meaning,  and 
soft,  speaking  eyes,  moist  with  feeling  and  sympathy. 
These  are  our  halcyon  hours,  when  we  forget  the  needs 
of  the  morrow,  and  that  men  still  buy,  sell,  cheat,  and 
strive  for  gold,  and  that  we  are  in  the  Eocky  Moun- 
tains, and  that  it  is  near  midnight.  But  morning 
comes  hot  and  tiresome,  and  the  never-ending  work 
is  oppressive,  and  Dr.  H.  comes  in  from  the  field  two 
or  three  times  in  the  day,  dizzy  and  faint,  and  they 
condole  with  each  other,  and  I  feel  that  the  Colorado 
settler  needs  to  be  made  of  sterner  stuff  and  to 
possess  more  adaptability. 

To-day  has   been  a   very  pleasant  day  for  ine, 
though  I  have  only  once  sat  down  since  9  A.M.,  and 


•I.BTTER  vi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  , ' 

it  is  now  5  P.M.  I  plotted  that  the  devoted  Swiss  girl 
should  go  to  the  nearest  settlement  with  two  of  tlu 
children  for  the  day  in  a  neighbour's  waggon,  and 
that  Dr.  and  Mrs.  H.  should  get  an  afternoon  of  res* 
and  sleep  upstairs,  while  I  undertook  to  do  the  worli 
and  make  something  of  a  cleaning.  I  had  a  large 
"  wash  "  of  my  own,  having  been  hindered  last  weel? 
by  my  bad  arm,  but  a  clothes-wringer  which  screw? 
on  to  the  side  of  the  tub  is  a  great  assistance,  and  bj 
folding  the  clothes  before  passing  them  through  it,  ) 
make  it  serve  instead  of  mangle  and  iron.  Aftei 
baking  the  bread  and  thoroughly  cleaning  the  churr 
and  pails,  I  began  upon  the  tins  and  pans,  the  clean- 
ing of  whicli  had  fallen  into  arrears,  and  was  hard  at 
work,  very  greasy  and  grimy,  when  a  man  came  in  tc 
know  where  to  ford  the  river  with  his  ox-team,  and 
as  I  was  showing  him  he  looked  pityingly  at  me, 
saying,  "  Be  you  the  new  hired  girl  ?  Bless  me, 
you're  awful  small ! " 

Yesterday  we  saved  three  cwt.  of  tomatoes  for 
winter  use,  and  about  two  tons  of  squash  and  pump- 
kin for  the  cattle,  two  of  the  former  weighing  140 
Ibs.  I  pulled  nearly  a  quarter  of  an  acre  of  maize, 
but  it  was  a  scanty  crop,  and  the  husks  were  poorly 
filled.  I  much  prefer  field  work  to  the  scouring  of 
greasy  pans  and  to  the  wash-tub,  and  both  to  eithei 
-sewing  or  writing. 

This  is  not  Arcadia.     "  Smartness,"  which  con- 


80  A  LADYS  LIFE  IN  LRH*i.  71 

sists  in  over-reaching  your  neighbour  in  every  fashion 
which  is  not  illegal,  is  the  quality  which  is  held  in 
the  greatest  repute,  and  Mammon  is  the  divinity. 
From  a  generation  brought  up  to  worship  the  one 
and  admire  the  other  little  can  be  hoped.  In  districts 
distant  as  this  is  from  "  Church  Ordinances,"  there 
are  three  ways  in  which  Sunday  is  spent :  one,  to 
make  it  a  day  for  visiting,  hunting,  and  fishing; 
another,  to  spend  it  in  sleeping  and  abstinence  from 
work ;  and  the  third,  to  continue  all  the  usual  occu- 
pations, consequently  harvesting  and  felling  and 
hauling  timber  are  to  be  seen  in  progress.  Last 
Sunday  a  man  came  here  and  put  up  a  door,  and  said 
he  didn't  believe  in  the  Bible  or  in  a  God,  and  he 
wasn't  going  to  sacrifice  his  children's  bread  to  old  • 
fashioned  prejudices.  There  is  a  manifest  indiffer- 
ence to  the  higher  obligations  of  the  law,  "judgment, 
mercy,  and  faith  ; "  but  in  the  main  the  settlers  are 
steady,  there  are  few  flagrant  breaches  of  morals, 
industry  is  the  rule,  life  and  property  are  far  safer 
than  in  England  or  Scotland,  and  the  law  of  universal 
respect  to  women  is  still  in  full  force. 

The  days  are  now  brilliant  and  the  nights  sharply 
frosty.  People  are  preparing  for  the  winter.  The 
tourists  from  the  east  are  trooping  into  Denver,  and 
the  surveying  parties  are  coming  down  from  the  moun- 
tains. Snow  has  fallen  on  the  higher  ranges,  and  my 
hopes  of  getting  to  Estes  Park  are  down  at  zero. 


LETTER  vi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  81 

LOXGMOGNT,  September  85. 

Yesterday  was  perfect.  The  sun  was  brilliant  and 
the  air  cool  and  bracing.  I  felt  better,  and  after  a  hard 
day's  work  and  an  evening  stroll  with  my  friends  in  the 
glorious  afterglow,  I  went  to  bed  cheerful  and  hopefuJ 
as  to  the  climate  and  its  effect  on  my  health.  This 
morning  I  awoke  with  a  sensation  of  extreme  lassitude, 
and  on  going  out,  instead  of  the  delicious  atmosphere 
of  yesterday,  I  found  intolerable  suffocating  heat,  a 
Hazing  (not  brilliant)  sun,  and  a  sirocco  like  a  Vic- 
torian hot  wind.  Neuralgia,  inflamed  eyes,  and  a 
sense  of  extreme  prostration  followed,  and  my  ac- 
climatised hosts  were  somewhat  similarly  affected. 
The  sparkle,  the  crystalline  atmosphere,  and  the  glory 
of  colour  of  yesterday,  had  all  vanished.  We  had 
borrowed  a  waggon,  but  Dr.  H/s  strong  but  lazy 
horse  and  a  feeble  hired  one  made  a  poor  span ;  and 
though  the  distance  here  is  only  twenty-two  miles 
over  level  prairie,  our  tired  animal,  and  losing  the 
way  three  times,  have  kept  us  eight  and  a  half  hours 
in  the  broiling  sun.  All  notions  of  locality  fail  me 
on  the  prairie,  and  Dr.  H.  was  not  much  better.  We 
took  wrong  tracks,  got  entangled  among  fences, 
plunged  through  the  deep  mud  of  irrigation  ditches, 
and  were  despondent.  It  was  a  miserable  drive, 
sitting  on  a  heap  of  fodder  under  the  angry  sun. 
Half-way  here  we  camped  at  a  river,  now  only  a 
series  of  mud-holes,  and  I  fell  asleep  under  the  im- 

o 


82  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  TETTER  vi. 

peifect  shade  of  a  cotton- wood  tree,  dreading  the 
thought  of  waking  and  jolting  painfully  along  over 
the  dusty  prairie  in  the  dust-laden,  fierce  sirocco, 
under  the  ferocious  sun.  We  never  saw  man  or 
beast  the  whole  day. 

This  is  the  "  Chicago  Colony,"  and  it  is  said  to  be 
prospering,  after  some  preliminary  land  swindles.  It 
is  as  uninviting  as  Fort  Collins.  We  first  came  upon 
dust-coloured  frame-houses  set  down  at  intervals  on 
the  dusty  buff  plain,  each  with  its  dusty  wheat  or 
barley  field  adjacent,  the  crop,  not  the  product  of  the 
rains  of  heaven,  but  of  the  muddy  overflow  of  "  Irri- 
gating Ditch  No.  2."  Then  comes  a  road  made  up  of 
many  converging  waggon  tracks,  which  stiffen  into 
a  wide  straggling  street,  in  which  glaring  frame- 
houses  and  a  few  shops  stand  opposite  to  each  other. 
A  two-storey  house,  one  of  the  whitest  and  most 
glaring,  and  without  a  verandah  like  all  the  others, 
is  the  "  St.  Vrain  Hotel,"  called  after  the  St.  Vrain 
river,  out  of  which  the  ditch  is  taken  which  enables 
Longmount  to  exist.  Everything  was  broiling  in  the 
heat  of  the  slanting  sun,  which  all  day  long  had  been 
beating  on  the  unshaded  wooden  rooms.  The  heat 
within  was  more  sickening  than  outside,  and  black 
flies  covered  everything,  one's  face  included.  We  all 
sat  fighting  the  flies  in  my  bedroom,  which  was 
cooler  than  elsewhere,  till  a  glorious  sunset  over  the 
Rocky  Range,  some  ten  miles  off,  compelled  us  to  gc 


UETTEBVl.  THE  ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  83 

out  and  enjoy  it.  Then  followed  supper,  Western 
fashion, without  table-cloths,  and  all  the  "unattached" 
men  of  Longmount  came  in  and  fed  silently  and 
rapidly.  It  was  a  great  treat  to  have  tea  to  drink,  as 
I  had  not  tasted  any  for  a  fortnight.  The  landlord 
is  a  jovial,  kindly  man.  I  told  him  how  my  plans 
had  failed,  and  how  I  was  reluctantly  going  on  to- 
morrow to  Denver  and  New  York,  being  unable  to 
get  to  Estes  Park,  and  he  said  there  might  yet  be  a 
chance  of  some  one  coming  in  to-night  who  would  be 
going  up.  He  soon  came  to  my  room  and  asked 
definitely  what  I  could  do — if  I  feared  cold,  if  I 
could  "  rough  it,"  if  I  could  "  ride  horseback  and  lope." 
Estes  Park  and  its  surroundings  are,  he  says,  "  the 
most  beautiful  scenery  in  Colorado,"  and  "  it's  a  real 
shame,"  he  added,  "  for  you  not  to  see  it."  "We  had 
hardly  sat  down  to  tea  when  he  came,  saying,  "  You're 
in  luck  this  time  ;  two  young  men  have  just  come  in 
and  are  going  up  to-morrow  morning."  I  am  rather 
pleased,  and  have  hired  a  horse  for  three  days ;  but  I 
am  not  very  hopeful,  for  I  am  almost  ill  of  the 
smothering  heat,  and  still  suffer  from  my  fall,  and 
not  having  been  on  horseback  since,  thirty  miles  will 
be  a  long  ride.  Then  I  fear  that  the  accommodation 
is  as  rough  as  Chalmers's,  and  that  solitude  will  be 
impossible.  We  have  been  strolling  in  the  street 
ever  since  it  grew  dark  to  get  the  little  air  which  id 
moving. 


84  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTBK  vi, 

ESTBS  PARK  ! ! !  September  28. 

I  wish  I  could  let  those  three  notes  of  admiration 
go  to  you  instead  of  a  letter.  They  mean  everything 
that  is  rapturous  and  delightful — grandeur,  cheerful- 
ness, health,  enjoyment,  novelty,  freedom,  etc.  etc.  I 
have  just  dropped  into  the  very  place  I  have  heen  seek- 
ing, but  in  everything  it  exceeds  all  my  dreams.  There 
is  health  in  every  breath  of  air ;  I  am  much  better 
already,  and  get  up  to  a  seven  o'clock  breakfast 
without  difficulty.  It  is  quite  comfortable — in  the 
fashion  that  I  like.  I  have  a  log  cabin,  raised  on  six 
posts,  all  to  myself,  with  a  skunk's  lair  underneath  it, 
and  a  small  lake  close  to  it.  There  is  a  frost  every 
night,  and  all  day  it  is  cool  enough  for  a  roaring  fire. 
The  ranchman,  who  is  half  hunter  half  stockman,  and 
his  wife  are  jovial,  hearty  Welsh  people  from  Llan- 
beris,  who  laugh  with  loud,  cheery  British  laughsr 
sing  in  parts  down  to  the  youngest  child,  are  free- 
hearted and  hospitable,  and  pile  the  pitch-pine  logs 
half-way  up  the  great  rude  chimney.  There  has  been 
fresh  meat  each  day  since  I  came,  delicious  bread 
baked  daily,  excellent  potatoes,  tea  and  coffee,  and 
an  abundant  supply  of  milk  like  cream.  I  have 
a  clean  hay  bed  with  six  blankets,  and  there  are 
neither  bugs  nor  fleas.  The  scenery  is  the  most 
glorious  I  have  ever  seen,  and  is  above  us,  around  ua, 
at  the  very  door.  Most  people  have  advised  me  to 
go  to  Colorado  Springs,  and  only  one  mentioned  this 


LETTER  vi.  THB  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  85 

place,  and  till  I  reached  Longmount  I  never  saw  any 
one  who  had  been  here,  but  I  saw  from  the  lie  of  the 
country  that  it  must  be  most  superbly  situated. 
People  said,  however,  that  it  was  most  difficult  of 
access,  and  that  the  season  for  it  was  over.  In  tra- 
velling there  is  nothing  like  dissecting  people's  state- 
ments, which  are  usually  coloured  by  their  estimate  of 
the  powers  or  likings  of  the  person  spoken  to,  making 
all  reasonable  inquiries,  and  then  pertinaciously  but 
quietly  carrying  out  one's  own  plans.  This  is  per- 
fection, and  all  the  requisites  for  health  are  present, 
including  plenty  of  horses  and  grass  to  ride  on. 

It  is  not  easy  to  sit  down  to  write  after  ten  hours 
of  hard  riding,  especially  in  a  cabin  full  of  people, 
and  wholesome  fatigue  may  make  my  letter  flat  when 
it  ought  to  be  enthusiastic.  I  was  awake  all  night 
at  Longmount  owing  to  the  stifling  heat,  and  got  up 
nervous  and  miserable,  ready  to  give  up  the  thought 
of  coming  here,  but  the  sunrise  over  the  plains,  and 
the  wonderful  red  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  as  they 
reflected  the  eastern  sky,  put  spirit  into  me.  The 
landlord  had  got  a  horse,  but  could  not  give  any 
satisfactory  assurances  of  his  being  quiet,  and  being 
much  shaken  by  my  fall  at  Canyon,  I  earnestly 
wished  that  the  Gredey  Tribune  had  not  given  me  a 
reputation  for  horsemanship,  which  had  preceded  me 
here.  The  young  men  who  were  to  escort  me 
"seemed  very  innocent,"  he  said,  but  I  have  not 


86  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  VL 

arrived  at  his  meaning  yet.  When  the  horse  ap- 
peared in  the  street  at  8.30,  I  saw,  to  my  dismay,  a 
high-bred,  beautiful  creature,  stable-kept,  with  arched 
neck,  quivering  nostrils,  and  restless  ears  and  eyes. 
My  pack,  as  on  Hawaii,  was  strapped  behind  the 
Mexican  saddle,  and  my  canvas  bag  hung  on  the 
horn,  but  the  horse  did  not  look  fit  to  carry  "  gear,' 
and  seemed  to  require  two  men  to  hold  and  coax  him. 
There  were  many  loafers  about,  and  I  shrank  from 
going  out  and  mounting  in  my  old  Hawaiian  riding- 
dress,  though  Dr.  and  Mrs.  H.  assured  me  that  I 
looked  quite  "  insignificant  and  un  noticeable."  We 
got  away  at  nine  with  repeated  injunctions  from  the 
landlord  in  the  words,  "  Oh,  you  should  be  heroic ! " 

The  sky  was  cloudless,  and  a  deep  brilliant  blue, 
and  though  the  sun  was  hot  the  air  was  fresh  and 
bracing.  The  ride  for  glory  and  delight  I  shall  label 
along  with  one  to  Hanalei,  and  another  to  Mauna 
Kea,  Hawaii.  I  felt  better  quite  soon ;  the  horse  in 
gait  and  temper  turned  out  perfection — all  spring 
and  spirit,  elastic  in  his  motion,  walking  fast  and 
easily,  and  cantering  with  a  light,  graceful  swing  as 
soon  as  one  pressed  the  reins  on  his  neck ,  a  blithe, 
joyous  animal,  to  whom  a  day  among  the  mountains 
seemed  a  pleasant  frolic.  So  gentle  he  was,  that 
when  I  got  off  and  walked  he  followed  me  without 
being  led,  and  without  needing  any  one  to  hold  him 
he  allowed  me  to  mount  on  either  side.  In  addition 


LETTER  vi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  87 

to  the 'charm  of  his  movements  he  has  the  tat-like 
sure-footedness  of  a  Hawaiian  horse,  and  fords  rapid 
and  rough-bottomed  rivers,  and  gallops  among  stones 
and  stumps,  and  down  steep  hills,  with  equal  security. 
I  could  have  ridden  him  a  hundred  miles  as  easily  as 
thirty.  We  have  only  been  together  two  days,  yet 
we  are  firm  friends,  and  thoroughly  understand  each 
other.  I  should  not  require  another  companion  on  a 
long  mountain  tour.  All  his  ways  are  those  of  an 
animal  brought  up  without  curb,  whip,  or  spur,  trained 
by  the  voice,  and  used  only  to  kindness,  as  is  happily 
the  case  with  the  majority  of  horses  in  the  Western 
States.  Consequently,  unless  they  are  broncos,  they 
exercise  their  intelligence  for  your  advantage,  and 
do  their  work  rather  as  friends  than  as  machines. 

I  soon  began  not  only  to  feel  better,  but  to  be 
exhilarated  with  the  delightful  motion.  The  sun  was 
behind  us,  and  puffs  of  a  cool  elastic  air  came  down 
from  the  glorious  mountains  in  front.  We  cantered 
across  six  miles  of  prairie,  and  then  reached  the 
beautiful  canyon  of  the  St.  Vrain,  which,  towards 
its  mouth,  is  a  narrow,  fertile,  wooded  valley,  through 
which  a  bright  rapid  river,  which  we  forded  many 
times,  hurries  along,  with  twists  and  windings  innu- 
merable. Ah,  how  brightly  its  ripples  danced  in 
the  glittering  sunshine,  and  how  musically  its  waters 
murmured  like  the  streams  of  windward  Hawaii  1 
We  lost  our  way  over  and  over  again,  though  tne 


88  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  VT. 

"innocent"  young  men  had  been  there  before ;  indeed, 
it  would  require  some  talent  to  master  the  intricacies 
of  that  devious  trail,  but  settlers  making  hay  always 
appeared  in  the  nick  of  time  to  put  us  on  the  right 
track.  Very  fair  it  was,  after  the  brown  and  burning 
plains,  and  the  variety  was  endless.  Cotton-wood 
trees  were  green  and  bright,  aspens  shivered  in  golden" 
tremulousness,  wild  grape- vines  trailed  their  lemon- 
coloured  foliage  along  the  ground,  and  the  Yirginia 
creeper  hung  its  crimson  sprays  here  and  there, 
lighting  up  green  and  gold  into  glory.  Sometimes 
from  under  the  cool  and  bowery  shade  of  the  coloured 
tangle  we  passed  into  the  cool  St.  Vrain,  and  then 
were  wedged  between  its  margin  and  lofty  cliffs  and 
terraces  of  incredibly  staring,  fantastic  rocks,  lined, 
patched,  and  splashed  with  carmine,  vermilion,  greens 
of  all  tints,  blue,  yellow,  orange,  violet,  deep  crimson, 
colouring  that  no  artist  would  dare  to  represent,  and 
of  which,  in  sober  prose,  I  scarcely  dare  tell  Long's 
wonderful  peaks,  which  hitherto  had  gleamed  above 
the  green,  now  disappeared,  to  be  seen  no  more  for 
twenty  miles.  We  entered  on  an  ascending  valley, 
where  the  gorgeous  hues  of  the  rocks  were  intensified 
by  the  blue  gloom  of  the  pitch-pines,  and  then  taking 
a  track  to  the  north-west,  we  left  the  softer  world 
behind,  and  all  traces  of  man  and  his  works,  and 
plunged  into  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

There  were  wonderful  ascents  then  tip  which  I 


LKTTEBVI.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  89 

led  my  horse :  wild  fantastic  views  opening  up  con- 
tinually, a  recurrence  of  surprises;  the  air  keenei 
and  purer  with  every  mile,  the  sensation  of  loneliness 
more  singular.  A  tremendous  ascent  among  rocks 
and  pines  to  a  height  of  9000  feet  brought  us  to  a 
passage  seven  feet  wide  through  a  wall  of  rock,  with 
an  abrupt  descent  of  2000  feet,  and  a  yet  higher 
ascent  beyond.  I  never  saw  anything  so  strange  as 
looking  back.  It  was  a  single  gigantic  ridge  which 
we  had  passed  through,  standing  up  knife-like,  built 
up  entirely  of  great  brick-shaped  masses  of  bright- 
red  rock,  some  of  them  as  large  as  the  Koyal  Insti- 
tution, Edinburgh,  piled  one  on  another  by  Titans. 
Pitch-pines  grew  out  of  their  crevices,  but  there  was 
not  a  vestige  of  soil.  Beyond,  wall  beyond  wall  of 
similar  construction,  and  range  above  range,  rose  into 
the  blue  sky.  Fifteen  miles  more  over  great  ridges, 
along  passes  dark  with  shadow,  and  so  narrow  that 
we  had  to  ride  in  the  beds  of  the  streams  which  had 
excavated  them,  round  the  bases  of  colossal  pyramids 
of  rock  crested  with  pines,  up  into  fair  upland 
"parks,"  scarlet  in  patches  with  the  poison  oak, 
parks  so  beautifully  arranged  by  nature  that  I 
momentarily  expected  to  come  upon  some  stately 
mansion,  but  that  afternoon  crested  blue  jays  and 
chipmonks  had  them  all  to  themselves.  Here,  in 
the  early  morning,  deer,  bighorn,  and  the  stately  elk, 
come  down  to  feed,  and  there,  in  the  night,  prowl 


90  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEITERVU 

and  growl  the  Rocky  Mountain  lion,  the  grizzly 
bear,  and  the  cowardly  wolf.  There  were  chasms 
of  immense  depth,  dark  with  the  indigo  gloom  of 
pines,  and  mountains  with  snow  gleaming  on  their 
splintered  crests,  loveliness  to  bewilder  and  grandeur 
to  awe,  and  still  streams  and  shady  pools,  and  cool 
depths  of  shadow ;  mountains  again,  dense  with  pines, 
among  which  patches  of  aspen  gleamed  like  gold; 
valleys  where  the  yellow  cottonwood  mingled  with 
the  crimson  oak,  and  so,  on  and  on  through  the 
lengthening  shadows,  till  the  trail,  which  in  places 
had  been  hardly  legible,  became  well  defined,  and 
we  entered  a  long  gulch  with  broad  swellings  of 
grass  belted  with  pines. 

A  very  pretty  mare,  hobbled,  was  feeding;  a 
collie  dog  barked  at  us,  and  among  the  scrub,  not  far 
from  the  track,  there  was  a  rude,  black  log  cabin,  as 
rough  as  it  could  be  to  be  a  shelter  at  all,  with  smoke 
coming  out  of  the  roof  and  window.  We  diverged 
towards  it ;  it  mattered  not  that  it  was  the  home,  or 
rather  den,  of  a  notorious  "  ruffian  "  and  "  desperado." 
One  of  my  companions  had  disappeared  hours  before, 
the  regaining  one  was  a  town-bred  youth.  I  longed 
to  speak  to  some  one  who  loved  the  mountains.  I 
called  the  hut  a  den — it  looked  like  the  den  of  a 
wild  beast.  The  big  dog  lay  outside  it  in  a  threaten- 
ing attitude  and  growled.  The  mud  roof  was  covered 
«rith  lynx,  beaver,  and  other  furs  laid  out  to  dry 


LKTTEBVI.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  91 

oeaver  paws  were  pinned  out  on  the  logs,  a  part  of 
the  carcass  of  a  deer  hung  at  one  end  of  the  cabin,  a 
skinned  beaver  lay  in  front  of  a  heap  of  peltry  just 
within  the  door,  and  antlers  of  deer,  old  horseshoes, 
and  offal  of  many  animals,  lay  about  the  den.  Eoused 
by  the  growling  of  the  dog,  his  owner  came  out,  a 
broad,  thickset  man,  about  the  middle  height,  with 
an  old  cap  on  his  head,  and  wearing  a  grey  hunting- 
s^it  much  the  worse  for  wear  (almost  falling  to  pieces, 
in  fact),  a  digger's  scarf  knotted  round  his  waist,  a 
knife  in  his  belt,  and  "  a  bosom  friend,"  a  revolver, 
sticking  out  of  the  breast-pocket  of  his  coat;  his 
feet,  which  were  very  small,  were  bare,  except  for 
some  dilapidated  moccasins  made  of  horse  hide.  The 
marvel  was  how  his  clothes  hung  together,  and  OD 
him.  The  scarf  round  his  waist  must  have  had 
something  to  do  with  it.  His  face  was  remarkable. 
He  is  a  man  about  forty-five,  and  must  have  been 
strikingly  handsome.  He  has  large  grey-blue  eyes, 
deeply  set,  with  well-marked  eyebrows,  a  handsome 
aquiline  nose,  and  a  very  handsome  mouth.  His 
face  was  smooth-shaven  except  for  a  dense  moustache 
and  imperial.  Tawny  hair,  in  thin  uncared-for  curls, 
fell  from  under  his  hunter's  cap  and  over  his  collar. 
One  eye  was  entirely  gone,  and  the  loss  made  one 
side  of  the  face  repulsive,  while  the  other  might  have 
been  modelled  in  marble.  "  Desperado  "  was  written 
in  large  letters  all  over  him.  I  almost  repented  of 


92  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LBTTBK  vi 

having  sought  his  acquaintance.  His  first  impulse 
was  to  swear  at  the  dog,  but  on  seeing  a  lady  he  con- 
tented himself  with  kicking  him,  and  coming  up  to 
me  he  raised  his  cap,  showing  as  he  did  so  a  magnifi- 
cently-formed brow  and  head,  and  in  a  cultured  tone 
of  voice  asked  if  there  were  anything  he  could  do  for 
me  ?  I  asked  for  some  water,  and  he  brought  some 
in  a  battered  tin,  gracefully  apologising  for  not 
having  anything  more  presentable.  We  entered  into 
conversation,  and  as  he  spoke  I  forgot  both  his 
reputation  and  appearance,  for  his  manner  was  that 
of  a  chivalrous  gentleman,  his  accent  refined,  and  his 
language  easy  and  elegant.  I  inquired  about  some 
beavers'  paws  which  were  drying,  and  in  a  moment 
they  hung  on  the  horn  of  my  saddle.  Apropos  of  the 
wild  animals  of  the  region,  he  told  me  that  the  loss 
of  his  eye  was  owing  to  a  recent  encounter  with  a 
grizzly  bear,  which,  after  giving  him  a  death  hug, 
tearing  him  all  over,  breaking  his  arm  and  scratching 
out  his  eye,  had  left  him  for  dead.  As  we  rode 
away,  for  the  sun  was  sinking,  he  said,  courteously, 
"  You  are  not  an  American.  I  know  from  your  voice 
that  you  are  a  countrywoman  of  mine.  I  hope  you 
will  allow  me  the  pleasure  of  calling  on  you."1  This 

1  Of  this  unhappy  man,  who  was  shot  nine  months  later  within 
two  miles  of  his  cabin,  I  write  in  the  subsequent  letters  only  as  he 
appeared  to  me.  His  life,  without  doubt,  was  deeply  stained  with 
crimes  and  vices,  and  his  reputation  for  ruffianism  was  a  deserved 


LETTEBVL  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  93 

man,  known  through  the  Territories  and  beyond  them 
as  "Kooky  Mountain  Jim,"  or,  more  briefly,  as 
"  Mountain  Jim,"  is  one  of  the  famous  scouts  of  the 
Plains,  and  is  the  original  of  some  daring  portraits  in 
fiction  concerning  Indian  frontier  warfare.  So  far  as 
I  have  at  present  heard,  he  is  a  man  for  whom  there 
is  now  no  room,  for  the  time  for  blows  and  blood  in 
this  part  of  Colorado  is  past,  and  the  fame  of  many 
daring  exploits  is  sullied  by  crimes  which  are  not 
easily  forgiven  hera  He  now  has  a  "squatter's 
claim,"  but  makes  his  living  as  a  trapper,  and  is  a 
complete  child  of  the  mountains.  Of  his  genius  and 
chivalry  to  women  there  does  not  appear  to  be  any 
doubt ;  but  he  is  a  desperate  character,  and  is  subject 
to  "ugly  fits,"  when  people  think  it  best  to  avoid 
him.  It  is  here  regarded  as  an  evil  that  he  has  located 
himself  at  the  mouth  of  the  only  entrance  to  the 
Park,  for  he  is  dangerous  with  his  pistols,  and  it 
would  be  safer  if  he  were  not  here.  His  besetting 
sin  is  indicated  in  the  verdict  pronounced  on  him  by 
my  host :  "  When  he's  sober  Jim's  a  perfect  gentle- 
man ;  but  when  he's  had  liquor  he's  the  most  awful 
ruffian  in  Colorado." 

one.  But  in  my  intercourse  with  him  1  saw  more  of  his  noblet 
instinct*  than  of  the  darker  parts  of  his  character,  which,  un- 
fortunately for  himself  and  others,  showed  itself  in  its  worst 
colours  at  the  time  of  his  tragic  end.  It  was  not  until  after  I  left 
Colorado,  not  indeed  until  after  his  death,  that  I  heard  of  the  worst 
points  of  his  character. 


94  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  VL. 

From  the  ridge  on  which  this  gulch  terminates, 
at  a  height  of  9000  feet,  we  saw  at  last  Estes  Park, 
lying  1500  feet  below  in  the  glory  of  the  setting  sun, 
an  irregular  basin,  lighted  up  by  the  bright  waters 
of  the  rushing  Thompson,  guarded  by  sentinel  moun- 
tains of  fantastic  shape  and  monstrous  size,  with. 
Long's  Peak  rising  above  them  all  in  unapproachable 
grandeur,  while  the  Snowy  Range,  with  its  outlying 
spurs  heavily  timbered,  come  down  upon  the  Park 
slashed  by  stupendous  canyons  lying  deep  in  purple 
gloom.  The  rushing  river  was  blood-red,  Long's 
Peak  was  aflame,  the  glory  of  the  glowing  heaven 
was  given  back  from  earth.  Never,  nowhere,  have  I 
seen  anything  to  equal  the  view  into  Estes  Park. 
The  mountains  "of  the  land  which  is  very  far  off" 
are  very  near  now,  but  the  near  is  more  glorious  than 
the  far,  and  reality  than  dreamland.  The  mountain 
fever  seized  me,  and,  giving  my  tireless  horse  one 
encouraging  word,  he  dashed  at  full  gallop  over  a 
mile  of  smooth  sward  at  delirious  speed.  But  I  was 
hungry,  and  the  air  was  frosty,  and  I  was  wondering 
what  the  prospects  of  food  and  shelter  were  in  this 
enchanted  region,  when  we  came  suddenly  upon  a 
small  lake,  close  to  which  was  a  very  trim-looking 
log  cabin,  with  a  flat  mud  roof,  with  four  smaller 
ones ;  picturesquely  dotted  about  near  it,  two  corral** 

1  A  corral  is  a  fenced  enclosure  for  cattle.     This  word,  with* 
bronco,  ran-,h,  w\<\  a  few  others,  are  adaptations  from  the  Spanish,. 


LETTER  vi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  95 

a  long  shed,  in  front  of  which  a  steer  was  being 
killed,  a  log-dairy  with  a  water-wheel,  some  hay- 
piles,  and  various  evidences  of  comfort ;  and  two  men, 
on  serviceable  horses,  were  just  bringing  in  some 
tolerable  cows  to  be  milked.  A  short,  pleasant- 
looking  man  ran  up  to  me  and  shook  hands  gleefully, 
which  surprised  me ;  but  he  has  since  told  me  that 
in  the  evening  light  he  thought  I  was  "  Mountain 
Jim,  dressed  up  as  a  woman ! "  I  recognised  in  him 
a  countryman,  and  he  introduced  himself  as  Griffith 
Evans,  a  Welshman  from  the  slate  quarries  near 
Llanberis.  When  the  cabin-door  was  opened  I  saw 
a  good-sized  log  room,  unchinked,  however,  with 
windows  of  infamous  glass,  looking  two  ways;  a 
rough  stone  fireplace,  in  which  pine  logs,  half  as 
large  as  I  am,  were  burning ;  a  boarded  floor,  a  round 
table,  two  rocking-chairs,  a  carpet-covered  backwoods 
couch ;  and  skins,  Indian  bows  and  arrows,  wampum 
belts,  and  antlers,  fitly  decorated  the  rough  walls,  and 
equally  fitly  rifles  were  stuck  up  in  the  corners. 
Seven  men,  smoking,  were  lying  about  on  the  floor,  a 
sick  man  lay  on  the  couch,  and  a  middle-aged  lady 
sat  at  the  table  writing.  I  went  out  again  and  asked 
Evans  if  he  could  take  me  in,  expecting  nothing 
better  than  a  shakedown ;  but,  to  my  joy,  he  told  me 
he  could  give  me  a  cabin  to  myself,  two  minutes' 

and  are  used  as  extensively  throughout  California  and  the  Territories 
as  is  the  Spanish  or  Mexican  saddle. 


96  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 

walk  from  his  own.  So  in  this  glorious  upper  world, 
with  the  mountain  pines  behind  and  the  clear  lake 
hi  front,  in  the  "  blue  hollow  at  the  foot  of  Long's 
Peak,"  at  a  height  of  7500  feet,  where  the  hoar  frost 
crisps  the  grass  every  night  of  the  year,  I  have  found 
far  more  than  I  ever  dared  to  hope  for. 


THJfi  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


LETTER    VII. 

•'  Personality'  of  Long's  Peak — "Mountain  Jim" — Lake  of  the  Lillet 
— A  silent  Forest — The  Camping  Ground — "Ring  " — A  Lady's 
Bower — Dawn  and  Sunrise — A  glorious  View — Links  of  Dia- 
monds—The Ascent  of  the  Peak— The  Dog's  Lift— Suffering 
from  Thirst — The  Descent — The  Bivouac. 

ESTBS  PARK,  COLORADO,  October. 

As  this  account  of  the  ascent  of  Long's  Peak  could 
not  be  written  at  the  time,  I  am  much  disinclined 
to  write  it,  especially  as  no  sort  of  description  within 
my  powers  could  enable  another  to  realise  the 
glorious  sublimity,  the  majestic  solitude,  and  the 
unspeakable  awfulness  and  fascination  of  the  scenea 
in  which  I  spent  Monday,  Tuesday,  and  Wed- 
nesday. 

Long's  Peak,  14,700  feet  high,  blocks  up  one  end 
of  Estes  Park,  and  dwarfs  all  the  surrounding  moun- 
tains. From  it  on  this  side  rise,  snow-born,  the 
bright  St.  Vrain,  and  the  Big  and  Little  Thompson. 
By  sunlight  or  moonlight  its  splintered  grey  crest  is 
the  one  object  which,  in  spite  of  wapiti  and  bighorn, 
skunk  and  grizzly,  unfailingly  arrests  the  eye.  From 
it  come  all  storms  of  snow  and  wind,  and  the  forked 
lightnings  play  round  its  head  like  a  glory.  It  i» 


;S8  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vn. 

one  of  the  noblest  of  mountains,  but  in  one's  imagi- 
nation it  grows  to  be  much  more  than  a  mountain 
It  becomes  invested  with  a  personality.  In  its 
caverns  and  abysses  one  comes  to  fancy  that  it  gene- 
rates and  chains  the  strong  winds,  to  let  them  loose 
in  its  fury.  The  thunder  becomes  its  voice,  and  the 
lightnings  do  it  homage.  Other  summits  blush  under 
the  morning  kiss  of  the  sun,  and  turn  pale  the  next 
moment ;  but  it  detains  the  first  sunlight  and  holds 
it  round  its  head  for  an  hour  at  least,  till  it  pleases  to 
change  from  rosy  red  to  deep  blue;  and  the  sunset, 
as  if  spell-bound,  lingers  latest  on  its  crest.  The  soft 
winds  which  hardly  rustle  the  pine  needles  down 
here  are  raging  rudely  up  there  round  its  motionless 
summit.  The  mark  of  fire  is  upon  it ;  and  though  it 
has  passed  into  a  grim  repose,  it  tells  of  fire  and  up- 
heaval as  truly,  though  not  as  eloquently,  as  the 
living  volcanoes  of  Hawaii.  Here  under  its  shadow 
one  learns  how  naturally  nature  worship,  and  the 
propitiation  of  the  forces  of  nature  arose  in  minds 
which  had  no  better  light. 

Long's  Peak,  "  the  American  Matterhorn,"  as  some 
call  it,  was  ascended  five  years  ago  for  the  first  time. 
I  thought  I  should  like  to  attempt  it,  but  up  to 
Monday,  when  Evans  left  for  Denver,  cold  water  was 
thrown  upon  the  project.  It  was  too  late  in  the  season, 
the  winds  were  likely  to  be  strong,  etc.;  but  just  be- 
iore  leaving,  Evans  said  that  the  weather  was  looking 


LETTISH  vii  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  99 

.more  settled,  and  if  I  did  not  get  farther  than  the 
timber  line  it  would  be  worth  going.  Soon  after  he 
left,  "Mountain  Jini"  canie  in,  and  said  he  would  go  up 
as  guide,  and  the  two  youths  who  rode  here  with  me 
from  Longmount  and  I  caught  at  the  proposal  Mrs. 
PA  wards  at  once  baked  bread  for  three  days,  steaks 
were  cut  from  the  steer  which  hangs  up  conveniently, 
;and  tea,  sugar,  and  butter  were  benevolently  added. 
Our  picnic  was  not  to  be  a  luxurious  or  "  well-found  *' 
one,  for,  in  order  to  avoid  the  expense  of  a  pack  mule 
we  limited  our  luggage  to  what  our  saddle  horses 
could  carry.  Behind  my  saddle  I  carried  three  pair  of 
camping  blankets  and  a  quilt,  which  reached  to  my 
shoulders.  My  own  boots  were  so  much  worn  that 
it  was  painful  to  walk,  even  about  the  park,  in  them, 
so  Evans  had  lent  me  a  pair  of  his  hunting  boots, 
which  hung  to  the  horn  of  my  saddle.  The  horses  of 
the  two  young  men  were  equally  loaded,  for  we  had 
to  prepare  for  many  degrees  of  frost.  "  Jim  "  was  a 
shocking  figure ;  he  had  on  an  old  pair  of  high  boots, 
with  a  baggy  pair  of  old  trousers  made  of  deer  hide, 
held  on  by  an  old  scarf  tucked  into  them ;  a  leather 
shirt,  with  three  or  four  ragged  unbuttoned  waist- 
.coats  over  it ;  an  old  smashed  wideawake,  from  under 
which  his  tawny,  neglected  ringlets  hung ;  and  with 
his  one  eye,  his  one  long  spur,  his  knife  in  his  belt, 
his  revolver  in  his  waistcoat  pocket,  his  saddle  covered 
-with  an  old  beaver-skiii,  ironi  which  the  paws  hung 


100  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  VIL 

down ;  his  camping  blankets  behind  him,  his  rifle 
laid  across  the  saddle  in  front  of  him,  and  his  axe, 
canteen,  and  other  gear  hanging  to  the  horn,  he  was 
as  awful  looking  a  ruffian  as  one  could  see.  By  way 
of  contrast  he  rode  a  small  Arab  mare,  of  exquisite 
beauty,  skittish,  high-spirited,  gentle,  but  altogether 
too  light  for  him,  and  he  fretted  her  incessantly  to 
make  her  display  herself. 

Heavily  loaded  as  all  our  horses  were,  "  Jim  " 
started  over  the  half-mile  of  level  grass  at  a  hand- 
gallop,  and  then  throwing  his  mare  on  her  haunches, 
pulled  up  alongside  of  me,  and  with  a  grace  of  man- 
ner which  soon  made  me  forget  his  appearance, 
entered  into  a  conversation  which  lasted  for  more 
than  three  hours,  in  spite  of  the  manifold  checks  of 
fording  streams,  single  file,  abrupt  ascents  and  descents, 
and  other  incidents  of  mountain  travel.  The  ride 
was  one  series  of  glories  and  surprises,  of  "  park " 
and  glade,  of  lake  and  stream,  of  mountains  on 
mountains,  culminating  in  the  rent  pinnacles  of 
Long's  Peak,  which  looked  yet  grander  and  ghastlier 
as  we  crossed  an  attendant  mountain  11,000  feet  high. 
The  slanting  sun  added  fresh  beauty  every  hour. 
There  were  dark  pines  against  a  lemon  sky,  grey 
peaks  reddening  and  etherealising,  gorges  of  deep  and 
infinite  blue,  floods  of  golden  glory  pouring  through 
canyons  of  enormous  depth,  an  atmosphere  of  absolute 
purity,  an  occasional  foreground  of  cotton-wood  and 


GRAND    CRATER    NEAR    LONG  S    PEAK. 


(Page  102) 


i.  THE  ROUKY  MOUNTAINS.  lUl 

aspen  flaunting  in  red  and  gold  to  intensify  the  blue 
gloom  of  the  pines,  the  trickle  and  murmur  of  streams 
fringed  with  icicles,  the  strange  sough  of  gusts  moving 
among  the  pine  tops — sights  and  sounds  not  of  the 
lower  earth,  but  of  the  solitary,  beast-haunted,  frozen, 
upper  altitudes.  From  the  dry,  buff  grass  of  Estes 
Park  we  turned  off  up  a  trail  on  the  side  of  a  pine- 
hung  gorge,  up  a  steep  pine-clothed  hill,  down  to  a 
small  valley,  rich  in  fine,  sun-cured  hay  about  eighteen 
inches  high,  and  enclosed  by  high  mountains  whose 
deepest  hollow  contains  a  lily-covered  lake,  fitly 
named  "  The  Lake  of  the  Lilies."  Ah,  how  magical 
its  beauty  was,  as  it  slept  in  silence,  while  there  the 
dark  pines  were  mirrored  motionless  in  its  pale  gold, 
and  here  the  great  white  lily  cups  and  dark  green 
leaves  rested  on  amethyst-coloured  water  ! 

From  this  we  ascended  into  the  purple  gloom  of 
great  pine  forests  which  clothe  the  skirts  of  the 
mountains  up  to  a  height  of  about  11,000  feet,  and 
from  their  chill  and  solitary  depths  we  had  glimpses 
of  golden  atmosphere  and  rose-lit  summits,  not  of 
"  the  land  very  far  off,"  but  of  the  land  nearer  now  in 
all  its  grandeur,  gaining  in  sublimity  by  nearness — 
glimpses,  too,  through  a  broken  vista  of  purple  gorges, 
of  the  illimitable  Plains  lying  idealised  in  the  late 
sunlight,  their  baked,  brown  expanse  transfigured  into 
the  likeness  of  a  sunset  sea  rolling  infinitely  in  %  *v** 
of  misty  gold. 


102  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  VIL 

We  rode  upwards  through  the  gloom  on  a  steep 
trail  blazed  through  the  forest,  all  my  intellect  con- 
centrated on  avoiding  being  dragged  off  my  horse  by 
impending  branches,  or  having  the  blankets  badly 
torn,  as  those  of  my  companions  were,  by  sharp  dead 
limbs,  between  which  there  was  hardly  room  to  pass, 
— the  horses  breathless,  and  requiring  to  stop  every 
few  yards,  though  their  riders,  except  myself,  were 
afoot.  The  gloom  of  the  dense,  ancient,  silent  forest 
is  to  me  awe-inspiring.  On  such  an  evening  it  is 
soundless,  except  for  the  branches  creaking  in  the 
soft  wind,  the  frequent  snap  of  decayed  timber,  and 
a  murmur  in  the  pine  tops  as  of  a  not  distant  water- 
fall, all  tending  to  produce  eeriness  and  a  sadness 
"  hardly  akin  to  pain."  There  no  lumberer's  axe  has 
ever  rung.  The  trees  die  when  they  have  attained 
their  prime,  and  stand  there,  dead  and  bare,  till  the 
fierce  mountain  winds  lay  them  prostrate.  The  pines 
grew  smaller  and  more  sparse  as  we  ascended,  and 
the  last  stragglers  wore  a  tortured,  warring  look.  The 
timber  line  was  passed,  but  yet  a  little  higher  a  slope 
of  mountain  meadow  dipped  to  the  south-west  towards 
a  bright  stream  trickling  under  ice  and  icicles,  and 
there  a  grove  of  the  beautiful  silver  spruce  marked 
our  camping  ground.  The  trees  were  in  miniature, 
but  so  exquisitely  arranged  that  one  might  well  ask 
what  artist's  hand  had  planted  them,  scattering  them 
here,  clumping  them  there,  and  training  their  slin? 


LBTTER  vn.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  103 

spires  towards  heaven.  Hereafter,  when  I  call  up 
memories  of  the  glorious,  the  view  from  this  camping 
ground  will  come  up.  Looking  east,  gorges  opened 
to  the  distant  Plains,  then  fading  into  purple  grey. 
Mountains  with  pine-clothed  skirts  rose  in  ranges,  or, 
solitary,  uplifted  their  grey  summits,  while  close  be- 
hind; but  nearly  3000  feet  above  us,  towered  the 
bald  white  crest  of  Long's  Peak,  its  huge  precipices 
red  with  the  light  of  a  sun  long  lost  to  our  eyes 
Close  to  us,  in  the  caverned  side  of  the  Peak,  was  sno\v 
that,  owing  to  its  position,  is  eternal  Soon  the  after- 
glow came  on,  and  before  it  faded  a  big  half-moon 
hung  out  of  the  heavens,  shining  through  the  silver 
blue  foliage  of  the  pines  on  the  frigid  background 
of  snow,  and  turning  the  whole  into  fairyland.  The 
"  photo  "  which  accompanies  this  letter  is  by  a  cou- 
rageous Denver  artist  who  attempted  the  ascent 
just  before  I  arrived,  but,  after  camping  out  at  the 
timber  line  for  a  week,  was  foiled  by  the  perpetual 
storms,  and  was  driven  down  again,  leaving  some 
very  valuable  apparatus  about  3000  feet  from  the 
summit. 

Unsaddling  and  picketing  the  horses  securely, 
making  the  beds  of  pine  shoots,  and  dragging  up  logs 
for  fuel,  warmed  us  all  "  Jim  "  built  up  a  great  fire, 
and  before  long  we  were  all  sitting  round  it  at 
gupper.  It  didn't  matter  much  that  we  had  to  drink 
our  tea  out  of  the  battered  meat-tins  in  which  it  waa 


104  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LErtER  vil 

boiled,  and  eat  strips  of  beef  reeking  with  pine  smoke 
without  plates  or  forks. 

"  Treat  Jim  as  a  gentleman  and  you'll  find  him 
one,"  I  had  been  told ;  and  though  his  manner  was 
certainly  bolder  and  freer  than  that  of  gentlemen 
generally,  no  imaginary  fault  could  be  found.  He 
was  very  agreeable  as  a  man  of  culture  as  well  as  a 
child  of  nature ;  the  desperado  was  altogether  out  of 
sight.  He  was  very  courteous  and  even  kind  to  me, 
which  was  fortunate,  as  the  young  men  had  little 
idea  of  showing  even  ordinary  civilities.  That  night 
I  made  the  acquaintance  of  his  dog  "  Ring,"  said  to 
be  the  best  hunting-dog  in  Colorado,  with  the  body 
and  legs  of  a  collie,  but  a  head  approaching  that  of  a 
mastiff,  a  noble  face  with  a  wistful  human  expres- 
sion, and  the  most  truthful  eyes  I  ever  saw  in  an 
animal.  His  master  loves  him  if  he  loves  anything, 
but  in  his  savage  moods  ill -treats  him.  "  Ring's'1 
devotion  never  swerves,  and  his  truthful  eyes  are 
rarely  taken  off  his  master's  face.  He  is  almost 
human  in  his  intelligence,  and,  unless  he  is  told  to  do 
so,  he  never  takes  notice  of  any  one  but  "  Jim."  In 
a  tone  as  if  speaking  to  a  human  being,  his  master, 
pointing  to  me,  said,  "  Ring,  go  to  that  lady,  and  don't 
leave  her  again  to-night."  "Ring"  at  once  came  to 
me,  looked  into  my  face,  laid  his  head  on  my  shoulder 
and  then  lay  down  beside  me  with  his  head  on  my  lap 
but  never  taking  his  eyes  from  "  Jim's  "  face 


LETTER  vil.  THE  KOOKY  MOUNTAINS.  105 

The  k.  g  shadows  of  the  pines  Icty  upon  the 
frosted  fjt;*  i,  an  aurora  leaped  fitfully,  and  the  moon- 
light, tliough  intensely  bright,  was  pale  beside  the 
red,  leaping  flames  of  our  pine  logs  and  their  red 
glow  on  our  gear,  ourselves,  and  King's  truthful  face. 
Ons  of  the  young  men  sang  a  Latin  student's  song 
and  two  negro  melodies ;  the  other,  "  Sweet  Spirit, 
hear  my  Prayer."  "  Jim  "  sang  one  of  Moore's  melo- 
dies in  a  singular  falsetto,  and  all  together  sang  "  The 
Star  -spangled  Banner "  and  "  The  Red,  White,  and 
Blue."  Then  "  Jim  "  recited  a  very  clever  poem  of 
his  own  composition,  and  told  some  fearful  Indian 
stories.  A  group  of  small  silver  spruces  away  from 
the  fire  was  my  sleeping-place.  The  artist  who  had 
been  up  there  had  so  woven  and  interlaced  their  lower 
branches  as  to  form  a  bower,  affording  at  once  shelter 
from  the  wind  and  a  most  agreeable  privacy.  It  was 
thickly  strewn  with  young  pine  shoots,  and  these, 
when  covered  with  a  blanket,  with  an  inverted  saddle 
for  a  pillow,  made  a  luxurious  bed.  The  mercury  at 
9  P.M.  was  12°  below  the  freezing  point.  "Jim," 
after  a  last  look  at  the  horses,  made  a  huge  fire,  and 
stretched  himself  out  beside  it,  but  "  Ring  "  lay  at  my 
back  to  keep  me  warm.  I  could  not  sleep,  but  the 
night  passed  rapidly.  I  was  anxious  about  the 
ascent,  for  gusts  of  ominous  sound  swept  through 
the  pines  at  intervals.  Then  wild  animals  howled, 
and  "  Ring"  was  perturbed  in  spirit  about  them.  Then 


106  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTKRVII 

it  was  strange  to  see  the  notorious  desperado,  a  red- 
handed  man,  sleeping  as  quietly  as  innocence  sleeps. 
But,  above  all,  it  was  exciting  to  lie  there,  with  no; 
better  shelter  than  a  bower  of  pines,  on  a  mountain 
11,000  feet  high,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  Eocky 
Range,  under  twelve  degrees  of  frost,  hearing  sounds 
of  wolves,  with  shivering  stars  looking  through  the 
fragrant  canopy,  with  arrowy  pines  for  bed-posts,  and 
for  a  night  lamp  the  red  flames  of  a  camp  fire. 

Day  dawned  long  before  the  sun  rose,  pure  and 
lemon-coloured.  The  rest  were  looking  after  the 
horses,  when  one  of  the  students  came  running  to- 
tell  me  that  I  must  come  farther  down  the  slope,  for 
"  Jim  "  said  he  had  never  seen  such  a  sunrise.  From 
the  chill,  grey  Peak  above,  from  the  everlasting 
snows,  from  the  silvered  pines,  down  through  moun- 
tain ranges  with  their  depths  of  Tyrian  purple,  we 
looked  to  where  the  Plains  lay  cold,  in  blue  grey,  like 
a  morning  sea  against  a  far  horizon.  Suddenly,  as 
a  dazzling  streak  at  first,  but  enlarging  rapidly  into 
a  dazzling  sphere,  the  sun* wheeled  above  the  grey 
line,  a  light  and  glory  as  when  it  was  first  created. 
"  Jim "  involuntarily  and  reverently  uncovered  his 
head,  and  exclaimed,  "  I  believe  there  is  a  God ! " 
I  felt  as  if,  Parsee-like,  I  must  worship.  The  grey  of 
the  Plains  changed  to  purple,  the  sky  was  all  one 
rose -red  flush,  on  which  vermilion  cloud -streaks 
rested ;  the  ghastly  peaks  gleamed  like  rubies,  the 
earth  and  heavens  were  new -created.  Surely  "  tb» 


LAVA    BEDS,    LONG  S    PEAK. 


(Page  1 08) 


LETTER  vii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  107 

Most  High  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with 
hands  !"  For  a  full  hour  those  Plains  simulated  the 
ocean,  down  to  whose  limitless  expanse  of  purple, 
cliffs,  rocks,  and  promontories  swept  down. 

By  aeven  we  had  finished  breakfast,  and  passed 
into  the  ghastlier  solitudes  above,  I  riding  as  far  as 
what,  rightly  or  wrongly,  are  called  the  "  Lava  Beds," 
an  expanse  of  large  and  small  boulders,  with  snow  in 
their  crevices.  It  was  very  cold ;  some  water  which 
we  crossed  was  frozen  hard  enough  to  bear  the  horse. 
"  Jim  "  had  advised  me  against  taking  any  wraps,  and 
my  thin  Hawaiian  riding-dress,  only  fit  for  the  tropics, 
was  penetrated  by  the  keen  air.  The  rarefied  atmo- 
sphere soon  began  to  oppress  our  breathing,  and  I 
found  that  Evans's  boots  were  so  large  that  I  had 
no  foothold.  Fortunately,  before  the  real  difficulty 
of  the  ascent  began,  we  found,  under  a  rock,  a  pair  of 
small  over-shoes,  probably  left  by  the  Hayden  explor- 
ing expedition,  which  just  lasted  for  the  day.  As 
we  were  leaping  from  rock  to  rock, "  Jim  "  said,  "  I 
was  thinking  in  the  night  about  your  travelling  alone, 
and  wondering  where  you  carried  your  Derringer,  for 
I  could  see  no  signs  of  it."  On  my  telling  him  that 
I  travelled  unarmed,  he  could  hardly  believe  it,  and 
adjured  me  to  get  a  revolver  at  once. 

On  arriving  at  the  "  Notch  "  (a  literal  gate  of 
rock),  we  found  ourselves  absolutely  on  the  knife- 
like  ridge  or  backbone  of  Long's  Peak,  only  a  few 
feet  wide,  covered  with  colossal  boulders  and  frag- 


108  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vii. 

ments,  and  on  the  other  side  shelving  in  one  precipi- 
tous, snow-patched  sweep  of  3000  feet  to  a  pictur- 
esque hollow,  containing  a  lake  of  pure  green  water. 
Other  lakes,  hidden  among  dense  pine  woods,  were 
farther  off,  while  close  above  us  rose  the  Peak,  which, 
for  about  500  feet,  is  a  smooth,  gaunt,  inaccessible- 
looking  pile  of  granite.  Passing  through  the  "  Notch," 
we  looked  along  the  nearly  inaccessible  side  of  the 
Peak,  composed  of  boulders  and  debris  of  all  shapes 
and  sizes,  through  which  appeared  broad,  smooth  ribs 
of  reddish-coloured  granite,  looking  as  if  they  upheld 
the  towering  rock-mass  above.  I  usually  dislike 
bird's-eye  and  panoramic  views,  but,  though  from  a 
mountain,  this  was  not  one.  Serrated  ridges,  not 
much  lower  than  that  on  which  we  stood,  rose,  one 
beyond  another,  far  as  that  pure  atmosphere  could 
carry  the  vision,  broken  into  awful  chasms  deep 
with  ice  and  snow,  rising  into  pinnacles  piercing  the 
heavenly  blue  with  their  cold,  barren  grey,  on,  on  for 
ever,  till  the  most  distant  range  upbore  unsullied 
snow  alone.  There  were  fair  lakes  mirroring  the 
dark  pine  woods,  canyons  dark  and  blue-black  with 
unbroken  expanses  of  pines,  snow-slashed  pinnacles, 
wintry  heights  frowning  upon  lovely  parks,  watered 
and  wooded,  lying  in  the  lap  of  summer  ;  North  Park 
floating  off  into  the  blue  distance,  Middle  Park  closed 
till  another  season,  the  sunny  slopes  of  Estes  Park, 
and  winding  down  among  the  mountains  the  snowy 


VIL  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  109 

ridge  of  the  Divide,  whose  bright  waters  seek  both 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans.  There,  far  below, 
links  of  diamonds  showed  where  the  Grand  Eiver 
takes  its  rise  to  seek  the  mysterious  Colorado,  with 
its  still  unsolved  enigma,  and  lose  itself  in  the  waters 
of  the  Pacific ;  and  nearer  the  snow-born  Thompson 
bursts  forth  from  the  ice  to  begin  its  journey  to  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico.  Nature,  rioting  in  her  grandest 
mood,  exclaimed  with  voices  of  grandeur,  solitude, 
sublimity,  beauty,  and  infinity,  "  Lord,  what  is  man, 
that  Thou  art  mindful  of  -him  ?  or  the  son  of  man, 
that  Thou  visitest  him?"  Never-to-be-forgotten 
glories  they  were,  burnt  in  upon  my  memory  by  six 
succeeding  hours  of  terror.  You  know  I  have  no 
head  and  no  ankles,  and  never  ought  to  dream  of 
mountaineering;  and  had  I  known  that  the  ascent 
was  a  real  mountaineering  feat  I  should  not  have  felt 
the  slightest  ambition  to  perform  it.  As  it  is,  I  am 
only  humiliated  by  my  success,  for  "  Jim  "  dragged 
me  up,  like  a  bale  of  goods,  by  sheer  force  of  muscle. 
At  the  "  Notch "  the  real  business  of  the  ascent 
began.  Two  thousand  feet  of  solid  rock  towered 
above  us,  four  thousand  feet  of  broken  rock  shelved 
precipitously  below  ;  smooth  granite  ribs,  with  barely 
foothold,  stood  out  here  and  there ;  melted  snow 
refrozen  several  times,  presented  a  more  serious 
obstacle ;  many  of  the  rocks  were  loose,  and  tumbled 
down  when  touched.  To  me  it  was  a  time  of  extreme 


110  A  LADY'S  LIKE  IN  UMTERYU. 

terror.  I  was  roped  to  "  Jim,"  but  it  was  of  no  us& 
my  feet  were  paralysed  and  slipped  on  the  bare  rock, 
and  he  said  it  was  useless  to  try  to  go  that  way,  and  we 
retraced  our  steps.  I  wanted  to  return  to  the  "  Notch," 
knowing  that  my  incompetence  would  detain  the 
party,  and  one  of  the  young  men  said  almost  plainly 
that  a  woman  was  a  dangerous  encumbrance,  but  tha 
trapper  replied  shortly  that  if  it  were  not  to  take  a  lady 
up  he  would  not  go  up  at  all.  He  went  on  to  explore, 
and  reported  that  further  progress  on  the  correct  line 
of  ascent  was  blocked  by  ice ;  and  then  for  two  hours 
we  descended,  lowering  ourselves  by  our  hands  from 
rock  to  rock  along  a  boulder -strewn  sweep  of  4000 
feet,  patched  with  ice  and  snow,  and  perilous  from 
rolling  stones.  My  fatigue,  giddiness,  and  pain  from 
bruised  ankles,  and  arms  half  pulled  out  of  their 
sockets,  were  so  great  that  I  should  never  have  gone 
half-way  had  not  "  Jim,"  nolens  volem,  dragged  me 
along  with  a  patience  and  skill,  and  withal  a  deter- 
mination that  I  should  ascend  the  Peak,  which  never 
failed.  After  descending  about  2000  feet  to  avoid 
the  ice,  we  got  into  a  deep  ravine  with  inaccessible 
sides,  partly  filled  with  ice  and  snow  and  partly  with 
large  and  small  fragments  of  rock,  which  were  con- 
stantly giving  way,  rendering  the  footing  very  inse- 
cure. That  part  to  me  was  two  hours  of  painful  and 
unwilling  submission  to  the  inevitable ;  of  trembling, 
slipping,  straining,  of  smooth  ice  appearing  when  it 


•LKTTKR  vii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  Ill 

was  least  expected,  and  of  weak  entreaties  to  be  left 
behind  while  the  others  went  on.  "  Jim "  always 
said  that  there  was  no  danger,  that  there  was  only  a 
short  bad  bit  ahead,  and  that  I  should  go  up  even  if 
he  carried  me ! 

Slipping,  faltering,  gasping  from  the  exhausting 
toil  in  the  rarefied  air,  with  throbbing  hearts  and 
panting  lungs,  we  reached  the  top  of  the  gorge  and 
squeezed  ourselves  between  two  gigantic  fragments 
of  rock  by  a  passage  called  the  "  Dog's  Lift,"  when  I 
climbed  on  the  shoulders  of  one  man  and  then  was 
hauled  up.  This  introduced  us  by  an  abrupt  turn 
round  the  south-west  angle  of  the  Peak  to  a  narrow 
shelf  of  considerable  length,  rugged,  uneven,  and  sc 
overhung  by  the  cliff  in  some  places  that  it  is  neces- 
sary to  crouch  to  pass  at  all.  Above, 'the  Peak  looks 
nearly  vertical  for  400  feet ;  and  below,  the  most 
tremendous  precipice  1  have  ever  seen  descends  in 
one  unbroken  fall.  Tliis  is  usually  considered  the 
most  dangerous  part  of  the  ascent,  but  it  does  not 
seem  so  to  me,  for  such  foothold  as  there  is  is  secure, 
and  one  fancies  that  it  is  possible  to  hold  on  with  the 
hands.  But  there,  and  on  the  final,  and,  to  my  thinking, 
the  worst  part  of  the  climb,  one  slip,  and  a  breathing, 
thinking,  human  being  would  lie  3000  feet  below,  a 
shapeless,  bloody  heap !  " Ring "  refused  to  traverse  the 
Ledge,  arid  remained  at  the  "  Lift "  howling  piteously. 

From  thence  the  view  is  more  magnificent  eveD 


•  .  _  A.  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vn, 

than  that  from  the  "Notch."  At  the  foot  of  the 
precipice  below  us  lay  a  lovely  lake,  wood  embo- 
somed, from  or  near  which  the  bright  St.  Vrain  and 
other  streams  take  their  rise.  I  thought  how  their 
clear  cold  waters,  growing  turbid  in  the  affluent 
flats,  would  heat  under  the  tropic  sun,  and  eventually 
form  part  of  that  great  ocean  river  which  renders 
our  far-off  islands  habitable  by  impinging  on  their 
shores.  Snowy  ranges,  one  behind  the  other,  ex- 
tended to  the  distant  horizon,  folding  in  their  wintry 
embrace  the  beauties  of  Middle  Park.  Pike's  Peak, 
more  than  one  hundred  miles  off,  lifted  that  vast  but 
shapeless  summit  which  is  the  landmark  of  Southern 
Colorado.  There  were  snow  patches,  snow  slashes, 
snow  abysses,  snow  forlorn  and  soiled-looking,  snow 
pure  and  dazzling,  snow  glistening  above  the  purple 
robe  of  pine  worn  by  all  the  mountains  ;  while  away 
to  the  east,  in  limitless  breadth,  stretched  the  green- 
grey  of  the  endless  Plains.  Giants  everywhere  reared 
their  splintered  crests.  From  thence,  with  a  single 
sweep,  the  eye  takes  in  a  distance  of  300  miles — 
that  distance  to  the  west,  north,  and  south  being 
made  up  of  mountains  ten;  eleven,  twelve,  and  thirteen 
thousand  feet  in  height,  dominated  by  Long's  Peak, 
Gray's  Peak,  and  Pike's  Peak,  all  nearly  the  height 
of  Mont  Blanc  !  On  the  Plains  we  traced  the  rivers 
by  their  fringe  of  cotton-woods  to  the  distant  Platte, 
and  between  us  and  them  lay  glories  of  mountain, 


LZTTBBYII.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  113 

canyon,  and  lake,  sleeping  in  depths  of  blue  and 
purple  most  ravishing  to  the  eye. 

As  we  crept  from  the  lodge  round  a  horn  of  rock 
I  beheld  what  made  me  perfectly  sick  and  dizzy  to 
look  at — the  terminal  Peak  itself — a  smooth,  cracked 
face  or  wall  of  pink  granite,  as  nearly  perpendicular 
as  anything  could  well  be  up  which  it  was  possible 
to  climb,  well  deserving  the  name  of  the  "American 
Matterhorn." l 

Scaling,  not  climbing,  is  the  correct  term  for  this 
last  ascent.  It  took  one  hour  to  accomplish  500  feet, 
pausing  for  breath  every  minute  or  two.  The  only 
foothold  was  in  narrow  cracks  or  on  minute  projec- 
tions on  the  granite.  To  get  a  toe  in  these  cracks,  or 
here  and  there  on  a  scarcely  obvious  projection,  while 
crawling  on  hands  and  knees,  all  the  while  tortured 
with  thirst  and  gasping  and  struggling  for  breath, 
this  was  the  climb ;  but  at  last  the  Peak  was  won. 
A  grand,  well-defined  mountain-top  it  is,  a  nearly 
level  acre  of  boulders,  with  precipitous  sides  all 
round,  the  one  we  came  up  being  the  only  accessible 
one. 

It  was  not  possible  to  remain  long.  One  of  the 
young  men  was  seriously  alarmed  by  bleeding  from 

1  Let  no  practical  mountaineer  be  allured  by  my  description  into 
the  ascent  of  Long's  Peak.  Truly  terrible  as  it  was  to  me,  to  • 
member  of  the  Alpine  Club  it  would  not  be  a  feat  worth  perform- 
ing. 

I 


114  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vii. 

the  lungs,  and  the  intense  dryness  of  the  day  and  the 
rarefaction  of  the  air,  at  a  height,  of  nearly  15,000 
feet,  made  respiration  very  painful.  There  is  always 
water  on  the  Peak,  but  it  was  frozen  as  hard  as  a 
rock,  and  the  sucking  of  ice  and  snow  increases  thirst. 
We  all  suffered  severely  from  the  want  of  water,  and 
the  gasping  for  breath  made  our  mouths  and  tongues 
so  dry  that  articulation  was  difficult,  and  the  speech 
of  all  unnatural. 

From  the  summit  were  seen  in  unrivalled  com- 
bination  all  the  views  which  had  rejoiced  our  eyes 
during  the  ascent.  It  was  something  at  last  to  stand 
upon  the  storm-rent  crown  of  this  lonely  sentinel 
of  the  Eocky  Eange,  on  one  of  the  mightiest  of  the 
vertebrae  of  the  backbone  of  the  North  American 
continent,  and  to  see  the  waters  start  for  both  oceans. 
Uplifted  above  love  and  hate  and  storms  of  passion, 
calm  amidst  the  eternal  silences,  fanned  by  zephyrs 
and  bathed  in  living  blue,  peace  rested  for  that  one 
bright  day  on  the  Peak,  as  if  it  were  some  region 

"  Where  falls  not  rain,  or  hail,  or  any  snow, 
Or  ever  wind  blows  loudly." 

We  placed  our  names,  with  the  date  of  ascent,  in  a 
tin  within  a  crevice,  and  descended  to  the  Ledge, 
flitting  on  the  smooth  granite,  getting  our  feet  into 
cracks  and  against  projections,  and  letting  ourselves 
down  by  our  hands, "  Jim  "  going  before  me,  so  that  I 


.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  115 

might  steady  my  feet  against  his  powerful  shoulders. 
I  WHS  no  longer  giddy,  and  faced  the  precipice  of 
3500  feet  without  a  shiver.  Eepassing  the  Ledge 
and  Lift,  we  accomplished  the  descent  through  1500 
feet  of  ice  and  snow,  with  many  falls  and  bruises, 
but  no  worse  mishap,  and  there  separated,  the  young 
men  taking  the  steepest  but  most  direct  way  to  the 
Notch,  with  the  intention  of  getting  ready  for  the 
march  home,  and  "  Jim "  and  I  taking  what  he 
thought  the  safer  route  for  me — a  descent  over 
boulders  for  2000  feet,  and  then  a  tremendous  ascent 
to  the  "  Notch."  I  had  various  falls,  and  once  hung 
by  my  frock,  wliich  caught  on  a  rock,  and  "Jim  " 
severed  it  with  his  hunting-knife,  upon  which  I  fell 
into  a  crevice  full  of  soft  snow.  We  were  driven 
lower  down  the  mountains  than  he  had  intended  by 
impassable  tracts  of  ice,  and  the  ascent  was  tremen- 
dous. For  the  last  200  feet  the  boulders  were  of 
enormous  size,  and  the  steepness  fearful.  Sometimes 
1  drew  myself  up  on  hands  and  knees,  sometimes 
crawled;  sometimes  "Jim"  pulled  me  up  by  my 
arms  or  a  lariat,  and  sometimes  I  stood  on  his  shoul- 
ders, or  he  made  steps  for  me  of  his  feet  and  hands, 
but  at  six  we  stood  on  the  Notch  in  the  splendour  ot 
the  sinking  sun,  all  colour  deepening,  all  peaks  glori- 
fying, all  shadows  purpling,  all  peril  past. 

"Jim "  had  parted  with  his  brusguerie  when  we 
parted  from  the  students,  and  was  gentle  and  con- 


116  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vii 

siderate  beyond  anything,  though  I  knew  that  he 
must  be  grievously  disappointed,  both  in  my  courage 
and  strength.  Water  was  an  object  of  earnest  de- 
sire. My  tongue  rattled  in  my  mouth,  and  I  could 
hardly  articulate.  It  is  good  for  one's  sympathies  to 
have  for  once  a  severe  experience  of  thirst.  Truly, 
there  was  J 

"  Water,  water,  everywhere, 
But  net  a  drop  to  drink." 

Three  times  its  apparent  gleam  deceived  even  the 
mountaineer's  practised  eye,  but  we  found  only  a 
foot  of  "  glare  ice."  At  last,  in  a  deep  hole,  he  suc- 
ceeded in  breaking  the  ice,  and  by  putting  one's  arm 
far  down  one  could  scoop  up  a  little  water  in  one's 
hand,  but  it  was  tormentingly  insufficient.  With 
great  difficulty  and  much  assistance  I  recrossed  the 
"  Lava  Beds,"  was  carried  to  the  horse  and  lifted 
upon  him,  and  when  we  reached  the  camping  ground 
I  was  lifted  off  him,  and  laid  on  the  ground  wrapped 
up  in  blankets,  a  humiliating  termination  of  a  great 
exploit.  The  horses  were  saddled,  and  the  young 
men  were  all  ready  to  start,  but  "Jim  "  quietly  said, 
"  Now,  gentlemen,  I  want  a  good  night's  rest,  and  we 
shan't  stir  from  here  to-night."  I  believe  they  were 
really  glad  to  have  it  so,  as  one  of  them  was  quite 
"  finished."  I  retired  to  my  arbour,  wrapped  myself 
In  a  roll  of  blankets,  and  was  soon  asleep.  When  I 
woke,  the  moon  was  high  shining  through  the  silvery 


LTTrER  vii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  117 

branches,  whitening  the  bald  Peak  above,  and  glit- 
tering on  the  great  abyss  of  snow  behind,  and  pine 
logs  were  blazing  like  a  bonfire  jn  the  cold  still  air. 
My  feet  were  so  icy  cold  that  I  could  not  sleep  again, 
and  getting  some  blankets  to  sit  in,  and  making  a 
roll  of  them  for  my  back,  I  sat  for  two  hours  by  the 
camp  fire.  It  was  weird  and  gloriously  beautiful. 
The  students  were  asleep  not  far  off  in  their  blankets 
with  their  feet  towards  the  fire.  "  King  "  lay  on  one 
side  of  me  with  his  fine  head  on  my  arm,  and  his 
master  sat  smoking,  with  the  fire  lighting  up  the 
handsome  side  of  his  face,  and  except  for  the  tones 
of  our  voices,  and  an  occasional  crackle  and  splutter 
as  a  pine  knot  blazed  up,  there  was  no  sound  on  the 
mountain  side.  The  beloved  stars  of  my  far-off  home 
were  overhead,  the  Plough  and  Pole  Star,  with  their 
steady  light;  the  glittering  Pleiades,  looking  larger 
than  I  ever  saw  them,  and  "  Orion's  studded  belt " 
shining  gloriously.  Once  only  some  wild  animals 
prowled  near  the  camp,  when  "  Ring,"  with  one  bound, 
disappeared  from  my  side ;  and  the  horses,  which 
were  picketed  by  the  stream,  broke  their  lariats, 
stampeded,  and  came  rushing  wildly  towards  the 
fire,  and  it  was  fully  half  an  hour  before  they  were 
caught  and  quiet  was  restored.  "Jim,"  or  Mr.  Nugent, 
as  I  always  scrupulously  called  him,  told  stories  of 
his  early  youth,  and  of  a  great  sorrow  which  had  led 
him  to  embark  on  a  lawless  and  desperate  life.  His 


118  A  LADY'S   LIFE  IN  LETTER  VIL 

voice  trembled,  and  tears  rolled  down  his  cheek.  Was 
it  semi-conscious  acting,  I  wondered,  or  was  his  dark 
soul  really  stirred  to  its  depths  by  the  silence,  the 
beauty,  and  the  memories  of  youth  ? 

We  reached  Estes  Park  at  noon  of  the  following 
day.  A  more  successful  ascent  of  the  Peak  was 
never  made,  and  I  would  not  now  exchange  my 
memories  of  its  perfect  beauty  and  extraordinary 
sublimity  for  any  other  experience  of  mountaineer- 
ing in  any  part  of  the  world.  Yesterday  snow  fell 
on  the  summit,  and  it  will  be  inaccessible  for  eight 
months  to  come.  * 


VIIL  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


LETTER  VIIL 

Bates  Park  — Big  Game  —  "  Parks "  in  Colorado  —  Magnificent 
Scenery — Flowers  and  Pines — An  awful  Road — Our  Log  Cabin 
— Griffith  Evans — A  miniature  World — Our  Topics — A  night 
Alarm — A  Skunk—  Morning  glories — Daily  routine — The  Panic 
"  Wait  for  the  Waggon  " — A  musical  evening. 

ESTES  PARK,  COLORADO  TERRITORY,  October  2. 
How  time  has  slipped  by  I  do  not  know.  This  is  a 
glorious  region,  and  the  air  and  life  are  intoxicating. 
I  live  mainly  out  of  doors  and  on  horseback,  wear  my 
half  threadbare  Hawaiian  dress,  sleep  sometimes 
under  the  stars  on  a  bed  of  pine  boughs,  ride  on  a 
Mexican  saddle,  and  hear  once  more  the  low  music 
of  my  Mexican  spurs.  "  There's  a  stranger !  Heave 
arf  a  brick  at  him ! "  is  said  by  many  travellers  to 
express  the  feeling  of  the  new  settlers  in  these  Terri- 
tories. This  is  not  my  experience  in  iny  cheery 
mountain  home.  How  the  rafters  ring  as  I  write 
with  songs  and  mirth,  while  the  pitch-pine  logs  blaze 
and  crackle  in  the  chimney,  and  the  fine  snow-dust 
drives  in  through  the  chinks  and  forms  mimic  snow- 
wreaths  on  the  floor,  and  the  wind  raves  and  howie 
and  plays  among  the  creaking  pine  branches  and 


1*0  A  LADV  S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vi!». 

snaps  them  short  off,  and  the  lightning  plays  round 
the  blasted  top  of  Long's  Peak,  and  the  hardy  hunters 
divert  themselves  with  the  thought  that  when  I  go  to 
bed  I  must  turn  out  and  face  the  storm ! 

You  will  ask,  "What  is  Estes  Park?"  This 
name,  with  the  quiet  Midland  Counties'  sound,  sug- 
gests "  park  palings  "  well  lichened,  a  lodge  with  a 
curtseying  woman,  fallow-deer,  and  a  Queen  Anne 
mansion.  Such  as  it  is,  Estes  Park  is  mine.  It  is 
unsurveyed,  "  no  man's  land,"  and  mine  by  right  of 
love,  appropriation,  and  appreciation ;  by  the  seizure 
of  its  peerless  sunrises  and  sunsets,  its  glorious  after- 
glow, its  blazing  noons,  its  hurricanes  sharp  and  furi- 
ous, its  wild  auroras,  its  glories  of  mountain  and 
forest,  of  canyon,  lake,  and  river,  and  the  stereotyping 
them  all  in  my  memory.  Mine,  too,  in  a  better  than 
the  sportsman's  sense,  are  its  majestic  wapiti,  which 
play  and  fight  under  the  pines  in  the  early  morning, 
as  securely  as  fallow-deer  under  our  English  oaks; 
its  graceful  "black-tails,"  swift  of  foot;  its  superb 
big-horns,  whose  noble  leader  is  to  be  seen  now  and 
then  with  his  classic  head  against  the  blue  sky  on  the 
cop  of  a  colossal  rock;  its  sneaking  mountain  lion 
with  his  hideous  nocturnal  caterwaulings,  the  great 
'  grizzly,"  the  beautiful  skunk,  the  wary  beaver,  who 
is  always  making  lakes,  damming  and  turning  streams, 
cutting  down  young  cotton-woods,  and  setting  an 
example  of  thrift  and  industry ;  the  wolf,  greedy  and 


LETTER  vin.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  121 

cowardly ;  the  coyote  and  the  lynx,  and  all  the  lessei 
fry  of  mink,  marten,  cat,  hare,  fox,  squirrel,  and  chip- 
monk,  as  well  as  things  that  fly,  from  the  eagle  down 
to  the  crested  blue-jay.  May  their  number  never  be 
less,  in  spite  of  the  hunter  who  kills  for  food  and 
gain,  and  the  sportsman  who  kills  and  marauds  for 
pastime ! 

But  still  I  have  not  answered  the  natural  ques- 
tion,1 "What  is  Estes  Park?"  Among  the  striking 
peculiarities  of  these  mountains  are  hundreds  of  high 
lying  valleys,  large  and  small,  at  heights  varying  from 
6000  to  11,000  feet.  The  most  important  are  North 
Park,  held  by  hostile  Indians ;  Middle  Park,  famous 
for  hot  springs  and  trout ;  South  Park,  rich  in  minerals; 
and  San  Luis  Park.  South  Park  is  10,000  feet  high, 
a  great  rolling  prairie  70  miles  long,  well  grassed  and 
.watered,  but  nearly  closed  by  snow  in  winter.  But 
Parks  innumerable  are  scattered  throughout  the  moun- 
tains, most  of  them  unnamed,  and  others  nicknamed 
by  the  hunters  or  trappers  who  have  made  them  their 
temporary  resorts.  They  always  lie  far  within  the 
flaming  Foot  Hills,  their  exquisite  stretches  of  flowery 
pastures  dotted  artistically  with  clumps  of  trees  slop- 
ing lawnlike  to  bright  swift  streams  full  of  red- 

1  Nor  should  I  at  this  time,  had  not  Henry  Kingsley,  Lord 
Dunraven,  and  ''The  Field,"  divulged  the  charms  and  whereabout! 
of  these  "  happy  hunting  grounds,"  with  the  certain  result  ol 
directing  a  stream  of  tourists  into  the  solitary,  beast -haunted 
paradise. 


122  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTKR  viu, 

waistcoated  trout,  or  running  up  in  soft  gladen  uto 
the  dark  forest,  above  which  the  snow-peaks  rise  in 
their  infinite  majesty.  Some  are  bits  of  meadow  a 
mile  long  and  very  narrow,  with  a  small  stream,  a 
beaver-dam,  and  a  pond  made  by  beaver  industry. 
Hundreds  of  these  can  only  be  reached  by  riding  in 
the  bed  of  a  stream,  or  by  scrambling  up  some  narrow 
canyon  till  it  debouches  on  the  fairy-like  stretch 
above.  These  parks  are  the  feeding-grounds  of  in- 
numerable wild  animals,  and  some,  like  one  three 
miles  off,  seem  chosen  for  the  process  of  antler-cast- 
ing, the  grass  being  covered  for  at  least  a  square  mile 
with  the  magnificent  branching  horns  of  the  elk. 

Estes  Park  combines  the  beauties  of  all.  Dismiss- 
all  thoughts  of  the  Midland  Counties.  For  park 
palings  there  are  mountains,  forest  skirted,  9000,. 
11,000,  14,000  feet  high;  for  a  lodge,  two  sentinel 
peaks  of  granite  guarding  the  only  feasible  entrance ; 
and  for  a  Queen  Anne  mansion  an  unchinked  log 
cabin  with  a  vault  of  sunny  blue  overhead.  The- 
park  is  most  irregularly  shaped,  and  contains  hardlv 
any  level  grass.  It  is  an  aggregate  of  lawns,  slopes,, 
and  glades,  about  eighteen  miles  in  length,  but  never 
more  than  two  miles  in  width.  The  Big  Thompson. 
a  bright,  rapid  trout-stream,  snow-born  on  Long's  Peak 
a  few  miles  higher,  takes  all  sorts  of  magical  twists, 
vanishing  and  reappearing  unexpectedly,  glancing 
among  lawns,  rushing  through  romantic  ravines. 


LETTER  VIII.  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  123 

everywhere  making  music  through  the  still,  long 
nights.  Here  and  there  the  lawns  are  so  smooth,  the 
trees  so  artistically  grouped,  a  lake  makes  such  an 
artistic  foreground,  or  a  waterfall  comes  tumbling 
down  with  such  an  apparent  feeling  for  the  pictur- 
esque, that  I  am  almost  angry  with  Nature  for  her 
close  imitation  of  art.  But  in  another  hundred  yards 
Nature,  glorious,  unapproachable,  inimitable,  is  her- 
self again,  raising  one's  thoughts  reverently  upwards 
to  her  Creator  and  ours.  Grandeur  and  sublimity 
not  softness,  are  the  features  of  Estes  Park.  The 
glades  which  begin  so  softly  are  soon  lost  in  the  dark 
primaeval  forests,  with  their  peaks  of  rosy  granite,  and 
their  stretches  of  granite  blocks  piled  and  poised  by 
nature  in  some  mood  of  fury.  The  streams  are  lost 
in  canyons  nearly  or  quite  inaccessible,  awful  in  their 
blackness  and  darkness ;  every  valley  ends  in  mystery; 
seven  mountain  ranges  raise  their  frowning  barriers 
between  us  and  the  Plains,  and  at  the  south  end  of 
the  park  Long's  Peak  rises  to  a  height  of  14,700  feet, 
with  his  bare,  scathed  head  slashed  with  eternal  snow. 
The  lowest  part  of  the  Park  is  7500  feet  high ;  and 
though  the  sun  is  hot  during  the  day,  the  mer- 
cury hovers  near  the  freezing-point  every  night  of 
the  summer.  An  immense  quantity  of  snow  falls, 
but  partly  owing  to  the  tremendous  winds  which 
drift  it  into  the  deep  valleys,  and  partly  to  the  bright 
warm  sun  of  the  winter  months,  the  Park  is  never' 


124  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTBR  vm. 

snowed  up,  and  a  number  of  cattle  and  horses  are 
wintered  out  of  doors  on  its  sun-cured,  saccharine 
grasses,  of  which  the  gramma  grass  is  the  most  valu- 
able. The  soil  here,  as  elsewhere  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, is  nearly  everywhere  coarse,  grey,  granitic  dust, 
produced  probably  by  the  disintegration  of  the  sur- 
rounding mountains.  It  does  not  hold  water,  and  is 
never  wet  in  any  weather.  There  are  no  thaws  here. 
The  snow  mysteriously  disappears  by  rapid  evapora- 
tion. Oats  grow,  but  do  not  ripen,  and,  when  well 
advanced,  are  cut  and  stacked  for  winter  fodder. 
Potatoes  yield  abundantly,  and,  though  not  very  large, 
are  of  the  best  quality,  mealy  throughout.  Evans 
has  not  attempted  anything  else,  and  probably  the 
more  succulent  vegetables  would  require  irrigation. 
The  wild  flowers  are  gorgeous  and  innumerable, 
though  their  beauty,  which  culminates  in  July  and 
August,  was  over  before  I  arrived,  and  the  recent 
snow-flurries  have  finished  them.  The  time  between 
winter  and  winter  is  very  short,  and  the  flowery 
growth  and  blossom  of  a  whole  year  are  compressed 
into  two  months.  Here  are  dandelions,  buttercups, 
larkspurs,  harebells,  violets,  roses,  blue  gentian,  colum- 
bine, painter's  brush,  and  fifty  others,  blue  and  yellow 
predominating;  and  though  their  blossoms  are  stiffened 
by  the  cold  every  morning,  they  are  starring  the  grass 
and  drooping  over  the  brook  long  before  noon,  mak- 
ing the  most  of  their  brief  lives  in  the  sunshine.  Of 


LEITER  vin.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  125 

ferns,  after  many  a  long  hunt,  I  have  only  found  the 
Cystopteris  fragilis  and  the  Blechnum  spicant,  but  I 
hear  that  the  Pteris  aquilina  is  also  found.  Snakes 
and  mosquitoes  do  not  appear  to  be  known  here. 
Coming  almost  direct  from  the  tropics,  one  is  dis- 
satisfied with  the  uniformity  of  the  foliage ;  indeed, 
foliage  can  hardly  be  written  of,  as  the  trees  properly 
so  called  at  this  height  are  exclusively  Coniferce,  and 
bear  needles  instead  of  leaves.  In  places  there  are 
patches  of  spindly  aspens,  which  have  turned  a  lemon- 
yellow,  and  along  the  streams  bear-cherries,  vines, 
and  roses  lighten  the  gulches  with  their  variegated 
crimson  leaves.  The  pines  are  not  imposing,  either 
from  their  girth  or  height.  Their  colouring  is  blackish- 
green,  and  though  they  are  effective  singly  or  in  groups, 
they  are  sombre  and  almost  funereal  when  densely 
massed,  as  here,  along  the  mountain  sides.  The  tim- 
ber line  is  at  a  height  of  about  11,000  feet,  and  is 
singularly  well  defined.  The  most  attractive  tree  I 
have  seen  is  the  silver  spruce,  Abies  Enylemanii,  near 
of  kin  to  what  is  often  called  the  balsam-fir.  Its 
shape  and  colour  are  both  beautiful.  My  heart 
warms  towards  it,  and  I  frequent  all  the  places  where 
I  can  find  it.  It  looks  as  if  a  soft,  blue,  silver  powder 
had  fallen  on  its  deep-green  needles,  or  as  if  a  bluish 
hoar-frost,  which  must  melt  at  noon,  were  resting 
upon  it.  Anyhow,  one  can  hardly  believe  that  the 
beauty  is  permanent,  and  survives  the  summer  heat 


126  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  VHE 

and  the  winter  cold.  The  universal  tree  here  is  the 
Pinus  ponderosa,  but  it  never  attains  any  very  con- 
siderable size,  and  there  is  nothing  to  compare  with 
the  red- woods  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  far  less  w.'th  the 
sequoias  of  California. 

As  I  have  written  before,  Estes  Park  is  thirty 
miles  from  Longmount,  the  nearest  settlement,  and 
it  can  be  reached  on  horseback  only  by  the  steep  and 
devious  track  by  which  I  came,  passing  through  a 
narrow  rift  in  the  top  of  a  precipitous  ridge,  9000  feet 
high,  called  the  Devil's  Gate.  Evans  takes  a  lumber 
waggon  with  four  horses  over  the  mountains,  and  a 
Colorado  engineer  would  have  no  difficulty  in  making 
a  waggon  road.  In  several  of  the  gulches  over  which 
the  track  hangs  there  are  the  remains  of  waggons 
which  have  come  to  grief  in  the  attempt  to  emulate 
Evans's  feat,  which,  without  evidence,  I  should  have 
supposed  to  be  impossible.  It  is  an  awful  road.  The 
only  settlers  in  the  Park  are  Griffith  Evans,  and  a 
married  man  a  mile  higher  up.  "  Mountain  Jim's " 
cabin  is  in  the  entrance  gulch,  four  miles  off,  and  there 
is  not  another  cabin  for  eighteen  miles  towards  the 
Plains.  The  Park  is  unsurveyed,  and  the  huge  tract 
of  mountainous  country  beyond  is  almost  altogether 
unexplored.  Elk-hunters  occasionally  come  up  and 
camp  out  here ;  but  the  two  settlers,  who,  however, 
are  only  squatters,  for  various  reasons  are  not  dis- 
posed to  encourage  such  visitors.  When  Evans,  whc 


BETTER  vin.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  127 

is  a  very  successful  hunter,  came  here,  he  came  on 
foot,  and  for  some  time*  after  settling  here  he  carried 
the  flour  and  necessaries  required  by  his  family  on 
his  back  over  the  mountains. 

As  I  intend  to  make  Estes  Park  my  headquarters 
until  the  winter  sets  in,  I  must  make  you  acquainted 
with  my  surroundings  and  mode  of  living.  The 
"  Queen  Anne  Mansion  "  is  represented  by  a  log  cabin 
made  of  big  hewn  logs.  The  chinks  should  be  filled 
with  mud  and  lime,  but  these  are  wanting.  The  roof 
is  formed  of  barked  young  spruce,  then  a  layer  of  hay, 
and  an  outer  coating  of  mud,  all  nearly  flat.  The 
floors  are  roughly  boarded.  The  "  living-room"  is 
about  sixteen  feet  square,  and  has  a  rough  stone 
chimney  in  which  pine  logs  are  always  burning.  At 
one  end  there  is  a  door  into  a  small  bedroom,  and  at 
the  other  a  door  into  a  small  eating-room,  at  the  table 
of  which  we  feed  in  relays.  This  opens  into  a  very 
small  kitchen  with  a  great  American  cooking-stove, 
and  there  are  two  "  bed-closets  "  besides.  Although 
rude,  it  is  comfortable,  except  for  the  draughts.  The 
fine  snow  drives  in  through  the  chinks  and  covers  the 
floors,  but  sweeping  it  out  at  intervals  is  both  fun  and 
exercise.  There  are  no  heaps  or  rubbish-places  out- 
side. Near  it,  on  the  slope  under  the  pines,  is  a 
pretty  two-roomed  cabin,  and  beyond  that,  near  the 
lake,  is  my  cabin,  a  very  rough  one.  My  door  opena 
into  a  little  room  with  a  stone  chimney,  and  that 


128  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEU  vm. 

again  into  a  small  room  with  a  hay  bed,  a  chair  with 
a  tin  basin  on  it,  a  shelf  and  some  pegs.  A  smaD 
window  looks  on  the  lake,  and  the  glories  of  the  sun- 
rises which  I  see  from  it  are  indescribable.  Neither 
of  my  doors  has  a  lock,  and,  to  say  the  truth,  neither 
will  shut,  as  the  wood  has  swelled.  Below  the  house, 
on  the  stream  which  issues  from  the  lake,  there  is  a 
beautiful  log  dairy,  with  a  water-wheel  outside,  used 
for  churning.  Besides  this,  there  are  a  corral,  a  shed 
for  the  waggon,  a  room  for  the  hired  man,  and  shelters 
for  horses  and  weakly  calves.  All  these  things  are 
necessaries  at  this  height. 

The  ranchmen  are  two  Welshmen,  Evans  and 
Edwards,  each  with  a  wife  and  family.  The  men  are 
as  diverse  as  they  can  be.  "  Griff,"  as  Evans  is  called, 
is  short  and  small,  and  is  hospitable,  careless,  reckless, 
jolly,  social,  convivial,  peppery,  good-natured,  "no- 
body's enemy  but  his  own."  He  had  the  wit  and 
taste  to  find  out  Estes  Park,  where  people  have  found 
him  out,  and  have  induced  him  to  give  them  food  and 
lodging,  and  add  cabin  to  cabin  to  take  them  in.  He 
is  a  splendid  shot,  an  expert  and  successful  hunter,  a 
bold  mountaineer,  a  good  rider,  a  capital  cook,  and  a 
generally  "jolly  fellow."  His  cheery  laugh  rings 
through  the  cabin  from  the  early  morning,  and  is 
contagious,  and  when  the  rafters  ring  at  night  with 
such  songs  as  "  D'ye  ken  John  Peel  ? "  "  Auld  Lang 
Syne,"  and  "  John  Brown,"  what  would  the  chorus  be 


LETTER  nil.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  129 

without  poor  "  Griff's  "  voice  ?  What  would  Estes 
Park  be  without  him,  indeed?  When  he  went  to 
Denver  lately  we  missed  him  as  we  should  have 
missed  the  sunshine,  and  perhaps  more.  In  the  early 
morning,  when  Long's  Peak  is  red,  and  the  grass 
crackles  with  the  hoar-frost,  he  arouses  me  with  a 
cheery  thump  on  my  door.  "We're  going  cattle- 
hunting,  will  you  come  ?"  or,  "Will  you  help  to  drive 
in  the  cattle  ?  you  can  take  your  pick  of  the  horses. 
I  want  another  hand."  Free-hearted,  lavish,  popular, 
poor  "  Griff"  loves  liquor  too  well  for  his  prosperity, 
and  is  always  tormented  by  debt.  He  makes  lots  of 
money,  but  puts  it  into  "  a  bag  with  holes."  He  has 
fifty  horses  and  1000  head  of  cattle,  many  of  which 
are  his  own,  wintering  up  here,  and  makes  no  end  of 
money  by  taking  in  people  at  eight  dollars  a  week, 
yet  it  all  goes  somehow.  He  has  a  most  industrious 
wife,  a  girl  of  seventeen,  and  four  younger  children, 
all  musical,  but  the  wife  has  to  work  like  a  slave ; 
and  though  he  is  a  kind  husband,  her  lot,  as  compared 
with  her  lord's,  is  like  that  of  a  squaw.  Edwards, 
his  partner,  is  his  exact  opposite,  tall,  thin,  and 
condemnatory  -  looking,  keen,  industrious,  saving, 
grave,  a  teetotaler,  grieved  for  all  reasons  at  Evans's 
follies,  and  rather  grudging ;  as  naturally  unpopular 
as  Evans  is  popular ;  a  "  decent  man,"  who,  with  his 
industrious  wife,  will  certainly  make  money  as  fast 
as  Evans  loses  it. 

K 


130  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  YIII. 

I  pay  eight  dollars  a  week,  which  includes  the 
unlimited  use  of  a  horse,  when  one  can  be  found  and 
caught.  We  breakfast  at  seven  on  beef,  potatoes 
tea,  coffee,  new  bread,  and  butter.  Two  pitchers  of 
cream  and  two  of  milk  are  replenished  as  fast  as  they 
are  exhausted.  Dinner  at  twelve  is  a  repetition  of 
the  breakfast,  but  with  the  coffee  omitted  and  a 
gigantic  pudding  added.  Tea  at  six  is  a  repetition  of 
breakfast.  "  Eat  whenever  you  are  hungry,  you  can 
always  get  milk  and  bread  in  the  kitchen,"  Evans 
says — "  eat  as  much  as  you  can,  it'll  do  you  good," 
and  we  all  eat  like  hunters.  There  is  no  change  of 
food.  The  steer  which  was  being  killed  on  my  arrival 
is  now  being  eaten  through  from  head  to  tail,  the 
meat  being  backed  off  quite  promiscuously,  without 
any  regard  to  joints.  In  this  dry,  rarefied  air,  the 
outside  of  the  flesh  blackens  and  hardens,  and  though 
the  weather  may  be  hot,  the  carcass  keeps  sweet  fox 
itwo  or  three  months.  The  bread  is  super-excellent, 
but  the  poor  wives  seem  to  be  making  and  baking  it 
all  day. 

The  regular  household  living  and  eating  together 
at  this  time  consists  of  a  very  intelligent  and  high- 
minded  American  couple,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dewy,  people 
whose  character,  culture,  and  society  I  should  value 
anywhere;  a  young  Englishman,  brother  of  a  cele- 
brated African  traveller,  who,  because  he  rides  on  an 
English  saddle,  and  clings  to  some  other  insulai 


LETTER  viii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  131 

peculiarities,  is  called  "  The  Earl ; "  a  miner  prospect- 
ing for  silver ;  a  young  man,  the  type  of  intelligent, 
practical  "Young  America,"  whose  health  showed 
consumptive  tendencies  when  he  was  in  business,  and 
who  is  living  a  hunter's  life  here ;  a  grown-up  niece 
of  Evans ;  and  a  melancholy-looking  hired  man.  A 
mile  off  there  is  an  industrious  married  settler,  and 
four  miles  off,  in  the  gulch  leading  to  the  Park, 
"Mountain  Jim,"  otherwise  Mr.  Nugent,  is  posted. 
His  business  as  a  trapper  takes  him  daily  up  to  the 
beaver-dams  in  Black  Canyon  to  look  after  his  traps, 
and  he  generally  spends  some  time  in  or  about  our 
cabin,  not,  I  can  see,  to  Evans's  satisfaction.  For,  in 
truth,  this  blue  hollow,  lying  solitary  at  the  foot  of 
Long's  Peak,  is  a  miniature  world  of  great  interest, 
in  which  love,  jealousy,  hatred,  envy,  pride,  unselfish- 
ness, greed,  selfishness,  and  self-sacrifice  can  be  studied 
hourly,  and  there  is  always  the  unpleasantly  exciting 
risk  of  an  open  quarrel  with  the  neighbouring  des- 
perado, whose  "  I'll  shoot  you ! "  has  more  than  once 
been  heard  in  the  cabin. 

The  party,  however,  has  often  been  increased  by 
"campers,"  either  elk-hunters  or  "prospectors"  for 
silver  or  locations,  who  feed  with  us  and  join  us  in 
the  evening.  They  get  little  help  from  Evans,  either 
as  to  elk  or  locations,  and  go  away  disgusted  and  un- 
successful Two  Englishmen  of  refinement  and 
culture  camped  out  here  prospecting  a  few  weeks 


132  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vnz. 

ago,  and  then,  contrary  to  advice,  crossed  the  moun- 
tains into  North  Park,  where  gold  is  said  to  abound, 
and  it  is  believed  that  they  have  fallen  victims  to  the 
bloodthirsty  Indians  of  that  region.  Of  course,  we 
never  get  letters  or  newspapers  unless  some  one  rides 
to  Longmount  for  them.  Two  or  three  novels  and  a 
copy  of  Our  New  West  are  our  literature.  Our  latest 
newspaper  is  seventeen  days  old.  Somehow  the 
Park  seems  to  become  the  natural  limit  of  our  inte- 
rests so  far  as  they  appear  in  conversation  at  table. 
The  last  grand  aurora,  the  prospect  of  a  snow-storm, 
track  and  sign  of  elk  and  grizzly,  rumours  of  a  big- 
horn herd  near  the  lake,  the  canyons  in  which  the 
Texan  cattle  were  last  seen,  the  merits  of  different 
rifles,  the  progress  of  two  obvious  love  affairs,  the 
probability  of  some  one  coming  up  from  the  Plains 
with  letters,  "  Mountain  Jim's  "  latest  mood  or  esca- 
pade, and  the  merits  of  his  dog  "  King  "  as  compared 
with  those  of  Evans's  dog  "  Plunk,"  are  among  the 
topics  which  are  never  abandoned  as  exhausted. 

On  Sunday  work  is  nominally  laid  aside,  but  most 
of  the  men  go  out  hunting  or  fishing  till  the  evening, 
when  we  have  the  harmonium  and  much  sacred  music 
and  singing  in  parts.  To  be  alone  in  the  Park  from 
the  afternoon  till  the  last  glory  of  the  afterglow  has 
faded,  with  no  books  but  a  Bible  and  Prayer-book,  is 
truly  delightful.  No  worthier  temple  for  a  "Te 
Deum  "  or  "  Gloria  in  Excelsis  "  could  be  found  than 


LETTER  vni.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  133 

this  "temple  not  made  with  hands,"  in  which  one 
may  worship  without  being  distracted  by  the  sight  of 
bonnets  of  endless  form,  and  curiously  intricate  "  back 
hair,  and  countless  oddities  of  changing  fashion. 

I  shall  not  soon  forget  my  first  night  here. 

Somewhat  dazed  by  the  rarefied  air,  entranced  by 
the  glorious  beauty,  slightly  puzzled  by  the  motley 
company,  whose  faces  loomed  not  always  quite  dis- 
tinctly through  the  cloud  of  smoke  produced  by  eleven 
pipes,  I  went  to  my  solitary  cabin  at  nine,  attended 
by  Evans.  It  was  very  dark,  and  it  seemed  a  long 
way  off.  Something  howled — Evans  said  it  was  a 
wolf — and  owls  apparently  innumerable  hooted  in- 
cessantly. The  pole-star,  exactly  opposite  my  cabin 
door,  burned  like  a  lamp.  The  frost  was  sharp.  Evans 
opened  the  door,  lighted  a  candle,  and  left  me,  and  I 
was  soon  in  my  hay  bed.  I  was  frightened — that  is, 
afraid  of  being  frightened,  it  was  so  eerie ;  but  sleep 
soon  got  the  better  of  my  fears.  I  was  awoke  by  a 
heavy  breathing,  a  noise  something  like  sawing  under 
the  floor,  and  a  pushing  and  upheaving,  all  very  loud. 
My  candle  was  all  burned,  and,  in  truth,  I  dared  not 
stir.  The  noise  went  on  for  an  hour  fully,  when,  just 
as  I  thought  the  floor  had  been  made  sufficiently  thin 
for  all  purposes  of  ingress,  the  sounds  abruptly  ceased, 
and  I  fell  asleep  again.  My  hair  was  not,  as  it  ought 
to  have  been,  white  in  the  morning ! 

I  was  dressed  by  seven,  our  breakfast-hour,  and 


134  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER 

when  I  reached  the  great  cabin  and  told  my  story, 
Evans  laughed  hilariously,  and  Edwards  contorted 
his  face  dismally.  They  told  me  that  there  was  a 
skunk's  lair  under  my  cabin,  and  that  they  dare  not 
make  any  attempt  to  dislodge  him  for  fear  of  render- 
ing the  cabin  untenable.  They  have  tried  to  trap 
him  since,  but  without  success,  and  each  night  the 
noisy  performance  is  repeated.  I  think  he  is  sharp- 
ening his  claws  on  the  under  side  of  my  floor,  as  the 
grizzlies  sharpen  theirs  upon  the  trees.  The  odour 
with  which  this  creature,  truly  named  Mephitis,  can 
overpower  its  assailants  is  truly  awful.  We  were 
driven  out  of  the  cabin  for  some  hours  merely  by  the 
passage  of  one  across  the  corral.  The  bravest  man  is 
a  coward  in  its  neighbourhood.  Dogs  rub  their  noses 
on  the  ground  till  they  bleed  when  they  have  touched 
the  fluid,  and  even  die  of  the  vomiting  produced  by 
the  effluvia.  The  odour  can  be  smelt  a  mile  off.  If 
clothes  are  touched  by  the  fluid  they  must  be  de- 
stroyed. At  present  its  fur  is  very  valuable.  Several 
have  been  killed  since  I  came.  A  shot  wel.  aimed 
at  the  spine  secures  one  safely,  and  an  experienced 
dog  can  kill  one  by  leaping  upon  it  suddenly  without 
being  exr/vswi  t*  daiige;.  It  is  a  beautiful  beast, 
about  the  size  an-  length  of  a  ib>  wLh  long  thick 
black  or  dark-brown  fur,  and  two  white  streaks  from 
the  head  to  the  long  bushy  tail.  The  claws  of  its 
fore-feet  are  long  and  polished.  Yesterday  one  wa»" 


LETTER  vni.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  135 

seen  rushing  from  the  dairy  and  was  shot.  "  Plunk," 
the  big  dog,  touched  it  and  has  to  be  driven  into 
exile.  The  body  was  valiantly  removed  by  a  man 
with  a  long  fork,  and  carried  to  a  running  stream,  but 
we  are  nearly  choked  with  the  odour  from  the  spot 
where  it  fell.  I  hope  that  my  skunk  will  enjoy  a 
quiet  spirit  so  long  as  we  are  near  neighbours. 

October  S. 

This  is  surely  one  of  the  most  entrancing  spots 
on  earth.  Oh,  that  I  could  paint  with  pen  or 
brush !  From  my  bed  I  look  on  Mirror  Lake,  and 
with  the  very  earliest  dawn,  when  objects  are  not 
discernible,  it  lies  there  absolutely  still,  a  purplish 
lead-colour.  Then  suddenly  into  its  mirror  flash 
inverted  peaks,  at  first  a  bright  orange,  then  chang- 
ing into  red,  making  the  dawn  darker  all  round. 
This  is  a  new  sight,  each  morning  new.  Then  the 
peaks  fade,  and  when  morning  is  no  longer  "  spread 
upon  the  mountains,"  the  pines  are  mirrored  in  my 
lake  almost  as  solid  objects,  and  the  glory  steals 
downwards,  and  a  red  flush  warms  the  clear  atmo- 
sphere of  the  Park,  and  the  hoar-frost  sparkles  and 
the  crested  blue  jays  step  forth  daintily  on  the  jew- 
elled grass.  The  majesty  and  beauty  grow  on  me 
daily.  As  I  crossed  from  my  cabin  just  now,  and 
the  long  mountain  shadows  lay  on  the  grass,  and 
form  and  colour  gained  new  meanings,  I  was  almost 


136  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vm. 

false  to  Hawaii;  I  couldn't  go  on  writing  for  the 
glory  of  the  sunset,  but  went  out  and  sat  on  a  rock 
to  see  the  deepening  blue  in  the  dark  canyons,  and 
the  peaks  becoming  rose  colour  one  by  one,  then 
fading  into  sudden  ghastliness,  the  awe-inspiring 
heights  of  Long's  Peak  fading  last.  Then  came  the 
glories  of  the  afterglow,  when  the  orange  and  lemon 
of  the  east  faded  into  gray,  and  then  gradually  the 
gray  for  some  distance  above  the  horizon  brightened 
into  a  cold  blue,  and  above  the  blue  into  a  broad  band 
of  rich,  warm  red,  with  an  upper  band  of  rose  colour; 
above  it  hung  a  big  cold  moon.  This  is  the  "  daily 
miracle"  of  evening,  as  the  blazing  peaks  in  the 
darkness  of  Mirror  Lake  are  the  miracle  of  morning. 
Perhaps  this  scenery  is  not  lovable,  but,  as  if  it  were  a 
strong  stormy  character,  it  has  an  intense  fascination. 
The  routine  of  my  day  is  breakfast  at  seven,  then 
I  go  back  and  "  do  "  my  cabin  and  draw  water  from 
the  lake,  read  a  little,  loaf  a  little,  return  to  the  big 
cabin  and  sweep  it  alternately  with  Mrs.  Dewy,  after 
which  she  reads  aloud  till  dinner  at  twelve.  Then  I 
ride  with  Mr.  Dewy,  or  by  myself,  or  with  Mrs, 
Dewy,  who  is  learning  to  ride  cavalier  fashion  in 
order  to  accompany  her  invalid  husband,  or  go  after 
cattle  till  supper  at  six.  After  that  we  all  sit  in  the 
living-room,  and  I  settle  down  to  write  to  you,  or 
mend  my  clothes,  which  are  dropping  to  pieces. 
Some  sit  round  the  table  playing  at  eucre,  the  strange 


LBTTEBVIII.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  137 

hunters  and  prospectors  lie  on  the  floor  smoking,  and 
rifles  £re  cleaned,  bullets  cast,  fishing-flies  made, 
fishing-tackle  repaired,  boots  are  waterproofed,  part- 
eongs  are  sung,  and  about  half-past  eight  I  cross  the 
crisp  grass  to  my  cabin,  always  expecting  to  find 
something  in  it.  We  all  wash  our  own  clothes,  and 
as  my  stock  is  so  small,  some  part  of  every  day  has 
to  be  spent  at  the  wash-tub.  Politeness  and  propriety 
always  prevail  in  our  mixed  company,  and  though 
various  grades  of  society  are  represented,  true  demo- 
cratic equality  prevails,  not  its  counterfeit,  and  there 
is  neither  forwardness  on  one  side  nor  condescension 
on  the  other. 

Evans  left  for  Denver  ten  days  ago,  taking  hia 
wife  and  family  to  the  Plains  for  the  winter,  and  the 
mirth  of  our  party  departed  with  him,  Edwards  ia 
sombre,  except  when  he  lies  on  the  floor  in  the  even- 
ing, and  tells  stories  of  his  march  through  Georgia 
with  Sherman.  I  gave  Evans  a  100-dollar  note  to 
change,  and  asked  him  to  buy  me  a  horse  for  my 
tour,  and  for  three  days  we  have  expected  him.  The 
mail  depends  on  him.  I  have  had  no  letters  from 
you  for  five  weeks,  and  can  hardly  curb  my  impa- 
tience. I  ride  or  walk  three  or  four  miles  out  on  the 
Longmount  trail  two  or  three  times  a  day  to  look 
for  him.  Others,  for  different  reasons,  are  nearly 
equally  anxious.  After  dark  we  start  at  every  sound, 
and  every  time  the  dogs  bark  all  the  able-bodied  of 


138  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  vui 


us  turn  out  en  masse.     "  Wait  for  the  waggon  "  hag 

become  a  nearly  maddening  joke^ 

October  9. 

The  letter  and  newspaper  fever  has  seized  on 
every  one.  We  have  sent  at  last  to  Longmount. 
This  evening  I  rode  out  on  the  Longmount  trail 
towards  dusk,  escorted  by  "Mountain  Jim,"  and 
in  the  distance  we  saw  a  waggon  with  four  horses 
and  a  saddle-horse  behind,  and  the  driver  waved 
a  handkerchief,  the  concerted  signal  if  I  were  the 
possessor  of  a  horse.  We  turned  back,  galloping 
down  the  long  hill  as  fast  as  two  good  horses  could 
carry  us,  and  gave  the  joyful  news.  It  was  an  hour 
before  the  waggon  arrived,  bringing  not  Evans  but 
two  "  campers"  of  suspicious  aspect,  who  have  pitched 
their  camp  close  to  my  cabin  !  You  cannot  imagine 
what  it  is  to  be  locked  in  by  these  mountain  walls, 
and  not  to  know  where  your  letters  are  lying.  Later 
on,  Mr.  Buchan,  one  of  our  usual  inmates,  returned 
from  Denver  with  papers,  letters  for  every  one  but 
me,  and  much  exciting  news.  The  financial  panic 
has  spread  out  West,  gathering  strength  on  its  way. 
The  Denver  banks  have  all  suspended  business, 
They  refuse  to  cash  their  own  cheques,  or  ^o  allow 
their  customers  to  draw  a  dollar,  and  would  not  even 
give  greenbacks  for  my  English  gold !  Neither  Mr. 
Buchan  nor  Evans  could  get  a  cent.  Business  is 
suspended,  and  everybody,  however  rich,  is  for  the 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  139 

time  being  poor.  The  Indians  have  taken  to  the  "  wai 
path,"  and  are  burning  ranches  and  killing  cattle, 
There  is  a  regular  "scare"  among  the  settlers,  and 
waggon  loads  of  fugitives  are  arriving  in  Colorado 
Springs.  The  Indians  say,  "The  white  man  has 
killed  the  buffalo  and  left  them  to  rot  on  the  plains. 
We  will  be  revenged."  Evans  had  reached  Long- 
mount,  and  will  be  here  to-night. 

October  10. 

"Wait  for  the  waggon"  still!  We  had  a  hur- 
ricane of  wind  and  hail  last  night;  it  was  eleven 
before  I  could  go  to  my  cabin,  and  I  only  reached 
it  with  the  help  of  two  men.  The  moon  was  not 
up,  and  the  sky  overhead  was  black  with  clouds,  when 
suddenly  Long's  Peak,  which  had  been  invisible, 
gleamed  above  the  dark  mountains,  all  glistening  with 
new  fallen  snow,  on  which  the  moon,  as  yet  unrisen 
here,  was  shining.  The  evening  before,  after  sunset, 
I  saw  another  novel  effect.  My  lake  turned  a  bril- 
liant orange  in  the  twilight,  and  in  its  still  mirror  the 
mountains  were  reflected  a  deep  rich  blue.  It  is  a 
world  of  wonders.  To-day  we  had  a  great  storm  with 
flurries  of  fine  snow ;  and  when  the  clouds  rolled  up 
at  noon,  the  Snowy  Kange  and  all  the  higher  moun- 
tains were  pure  white.  I  have  been  hard  at  work  all 
day  to  drown  my  anxieties,  which  are  heightened  by 
a  rumour  that  Evans  has  gone  buffalo-hunting  on  the 
Platte ! 


140  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEKVIII 

This  evening,  quite  unexpectedly,  Evans  arrived 
tfith  a  heavy  mail  in  a  box.  I  sorted  it,  but  there 
was  nothing  for  ms,  and  Evans  said  he  was  afraid  that 
he  had  left  rny  letters,  which  were  separate  from  the 
others,  behind  at  Denver,  but  he  had  written  from 
Longmount  for  them.  A  few  hours  later  they  were 
found  in  a  box  of  groceries ! 

All  the  hilarity  of  the  house  has  returned  with 
Evans,  and  he  has  brought  a  kindred  spirit  with  him, 
a  young  man  who  plays  and  sings  splendidly,  has  an 
inexhaustible  repertoire,  and  produces  sonatas,  funeral 
marches,  anthems,  reels,  strathspeys,  and  all  else,  out 
of  his  wonderful  memory.  Never,  surely,  was  a 
chamber  organ  compelled  to  such  service.  A  little 
cask  of  suspicious  appearance  was  smuggled  into  the 
cabin  from  the  waggon,  and  heightens  the  hilarity  a 
little,  I  fear.  No  churlishness  could  resist  Evans's 
unutterable  jollity  or  the  contagion  of  his  hearty 
laugh.  He  claps  people  on  the  back,  shouts  at  them, 
will  do  anything  for  them,  and  makes  a  perpetual 
breeze.  "  My  kingdom  for  a  horse !"  he  has  not  got 
one  for  me,  and  a  shadow  crossed  his  face  when  I 
spoke  of  the  subject.  Eventually  he  asked  for  a 
private  conference,  when  he  told  me,  with  some  con- 
fusion, that  he  had  found  himself  "  very  hard  up  "  in 
Denver,  and  had  been  obliged  to  appropriate  my  100- 
dollar  note.  He  said  he  would  give  me,  as  interest 
for  it  up  to  November  25th,  a  good  horse,  saddle,  and 


LETTER  viii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  141 

bridle  for  rny  proposed  journey  of  600  miles.  I  was 
somewhat  dismayed,  but  there  was  no  other  course, 
as  the  money  was  gone.1  I  tried  a  horse,  mended  my 
clothes,  reduced  my  pack  to  a  weight  of  twelve  pounds, 
and  was  all  ready  for  an  early  start,  when  before  day- 
light I  was  wakened  by  Evans's  cheery  voice  at  my 
door.  "  I  say,  Miss  B.,  we've  got  to  drive  wild  cattle 
to-day;  I  wish  you'd  lend  a  hand,  there's  not  enough 
of  us;  I'll  give  you  a  good  horse;  one  day  won't 
make  much  difference."  So  we've  been  driving  cattle 
all  day,  riding  about  twenty  miles,  and  fording  the 
Big  Thompson  about  as  many  times.  Evans  flatters 
me  by  saying  that  I  am  "as  much  use  as  another 
man;"  more  than  one  of  our  party,  I  hope,  who  al 
ways  avoided  the  "  ugly  "  cows. 

October  12. 

I  am  still  here,  helping  in  the  kitchen,  driving 
cattle,  and  riding  four  or  five  times  a  day.  Evans 
detains  me  each  morning  by  saying,  "  Here's  lots 
of  horses  for  you  to  try,"  and  after  trying  five 
or  six  a  day,  I  do  not  find  one  to  my  liking.  To- 
day, as  I  was  cantering  a  tall  well-bred  one  round 
the  lake,  he  threw  the  bridle  off  by  a  toss  of  his  head, 
leaving  me  with  the  reins  in  my  hands ;  one  bucked, 
and  two  have  tender  feet,  and  tumbled  down.  Such 
are  some  of  our  little  varieties.  Still  I  hope  to  get 

1  In  justice  to  Evans,  I  must  mention  here  that  every  cent  ol 
the  money  was  ultimately  paid,  that  the  horse  was  perfection,  and 
that  the  arrantrpmpnt  turned  out  a  most  advantageous  one  for  me. 


142  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEB  vni. 

off  on  my  tour  in  a  day  or  two,  so  at  least  as  to  be 
able  to  compare  Estes  Park  with  some  of  the  better 
known  parts  of  Colorado. 

You  would  be  amused  if  you  could  see  our  cabin 
just  now.  There  are  nine  men  in  the  room  and  three 
women.  For  want  of  seats  most  of  the  men  are  lying 
on  the  floor ;  all  are  smoking,  and  the  blithe  young 
French  Canadian  who  plays  so  beautifully,  and  catches 
about  fifty  speckled  trout  for  each  meal,  is  playing 
the  harmonium  with  a  pipe  in  his  mouth.  Three 
men  who  have  camped  in  Black  Canyon  for  a  week 
are  lying  like  dogs  on  the  floor.  They  are  all  over 
six  feet  high,  immovably  solemn,  neither  smiling  at 
the  general  hilarity,  nor  at  the  absurd  changes  which 
are  being  rung  on  the  harmonium.  They  may  be 
described  as  clothed  only  in  boots,  for  their  clothes 
are  torn  to  rags.  They  stare  vacantly.  They  have 
neither  seen  a  woman  nor  slept  under  a  roof  for  six 
months.  Negro  songs  are  being  sung,  and  before  that 
"Yankee  Doodle"  was  played  immediately  after 
"Rule  Britannia,"  and  it  made  every  one  but  the 
strangers  laugh,  it  sounded  so  foolish  and  mean. 
The  colder  weather  is  bringing  the  beasts  down  from 
the  heights.  I  heard  both  wolves  and  the  mountain 
lion  as  I  crossed  to  my  cabin  last  night. 

L  L.  B. 


THE  KUGKY   MOUNTAINS. 


LETTER   IX. 

*  Please  Ma'ams"— A  Desperado— A  Cattle  Hunt— The  Muster— 
A  mad  Cow — A  Snow  Storm — Snowed  up — Birdie — The  Plaini 
—  A  Prairie  Schooner  —  Denver  —  A  Find  —  Plum  Creek — 
"  Being  Agreeable" — Snow  bound — The  Grey  Mare. 

ESTES  PARK,  COLORADO. 

THIS  afternoon,  as  I  was  reading  in  my  cabin,  little 
Sam  Edwards  ran  in,  saying,  "  Mountain  Jim  wants 
to  speak  to  you."  This  brought  to  my  mind  images 
of  infinite  worry,  gauche  servants,  "  please  ma'ams," 
contretemps,  and  the  habit  growing  out  of  our  elaborate 
and  uselessly  conventional  life  of  magnifying  the  im- 
portance of  similar  trifles.  Then  "  things  "  came  up, 
with  the  tyranny  they  exercise.  I  really  need  nothing 
more  than  this  log-cabin  offers.  But  elsewhere  one 
must  have  a  house  and  servants,  and  burdens  and 
worries — not  that  one  may  be  hospitable  and  com- 
fortable, but  for  the  "  thick  clay "  in  the  shape  of 
"  things  "  which  one  has  accumulated.  My  log-house 
takes  me  about  five  minutes  to  "  do,"  and  you  could 
eat  off  the  floor,  and  it  needs  no  lock,  as  it  contains 
nothing  worth  stealing. 

But  "  Mountain  Jim  "  was  waiting  while  I  mad* 


A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  ix 

these  reflections  to  ask  us  to  take  a  ride;  and  he, 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dewy,  and  I,  had  a  delightful  stroll 
through  coloured  foliage,  and  then,  whe^n  they  were 
fatigued,  I  changed  my  horse  for  his  beautiful  mare, 
and  we  galloped  and  raced  in  the  beautiful  twilight, 
in  the  intoxicating,  frosty  air.  Mrs.  Dewy  wishes 
you  could  have  seen  us  as  we  galloped  down  the 
pass,  the  fearful-looking  ruffian  on  my  heavy  waggon- 
horse,  and  I  on  his  bare  wooden  saddle,  from  which 
beaver,  mink,  and  marten  tails,  and  pieces  of  skin, 
were  hanging  raggedly,  with  one  spur,  and  feet  not 
in  the  stirrups,  the  mare  looking  so  aristocratic  and  I 
so  beggarly !  Mr.  Nugent  is  what  is  called  "  splendid 
company."  With  a  sort  of  breezy  mountain  reck- 
lessness in  everything,  he  passes  remarkably  acute 
judgments  on  men  and  events  ;  on  women  also.  He 
has  pathos,  poetry,  and  humour,  an  intense  love  of 
nature,  strong  vanity  in  certain  directions,  an  obvious 
desire  to  act  and  speak  in  character,  and  sustain  his 
reputation  as  a  desperado,  a  considerable  acquaint- 
ance with  literature,  a  wonderful  verbal  memory, 
opinions  on  eveiy  person  and  subject,  a  chivalrous 
respect  for  women  in  his  manner,  which  makes  it  all 
the  more  amusing  when  he  suddenly  turns  round 
upon  one  with  some  graceful  raillery,  a  great  power 
of  fascination,  and  a  singular  love  of  children.  The 
children  of  this  house  run  to  him,  and  when  he  site 
down  they  climb  on  his  broad  shoulders  and  play 


LJSTTEBIX.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  145 

with  his  curls.  They  say  in  the  house  that  "DO  one 
who  has  been  here  thinks  any  one  worth  speaking 
to  after  Jim,"  but  I  think  that  this  is  probably  an 
opinion  which  time  would  alter.  Somehow,  he  is 
kept  always  before  the  public  of  Colorado,  for  one 
can  hardly  take  up  a  newspaper  without  finding  a 
paragraph  about  him,  a  contribution  by  him,  or  a 
fragment  of  his  biography.  Euffian  as  he  looks,  the 
first  word  he  speaks — to  a  lady,  at  least — places  him 
^n  a  level  with  educated  gentlemen,  and  his  conver- 
sation is  brilliant,  and  full  of  the  light  and  fitfulness 
of  genius.  Yet,  on  the  whole,  he  is  a  most  painful 
spectacle.  His  magnificent  head  shows  so  plainly 
the  better  possibilities  which  might  have  been  his. 
His  life,  in  spite  of  a  certain  dazzle  which  belongs  to 
it,  is  a  ruined  and  wasted  one,  and  one  asks  what  of 
good  can  the  future  have  in  store  for  one  who  has  for 
so  long  chosen  evil  ? 1 

Shall  I  ever  get  away  ?  We  were  to  have  had  a 
grand  cattle-hunt  yesterday,  beginning  at  6.30,  but 
the  horses  were  all  lost.  Often  out  of  fifty  horses 
all  that  are  wortli  anything  are  marauding,  and  a 
day  is  lost  in  hunting  for  them  in  the  canyons. 
However,  before  daylight  this  morning  Evans  called 
through  my  door,  "  Miss  Bird,  I  say  we've  got  to 
drive  cattle  fifteen  miles,  I  wish  you'd  lend  a  hand ; 

1  September  of  the  next  year  answered  the  question  by  laying 
him  down  in  a  dishonoured  grave,  with  a  rifle  bullet  in  his  brain, 

L 


146  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  ix. 

there's   not   enough   of   us ;   I'll    give   you   a  good 
horse." 

The  scene  of  the  drive  is  at  a  height  of  7500  feet, 
watered  by  two  rapid  rivers.  On  all  sides  mountains 
rise  to  an  altitude  of  from  11,000  to  15,000  feet,  their 
skirts  shaggy  with  pitch-pine  forests,  and  scarred  by 
deep  canyons,  wooded  and  boulder-strewn,  opening 
upon  the  mountain  pasture  previously  mentioned. 
Two  thousand  head  of  half-wild  Texan  cattle  are  scat- 
tered in  herds  throughout  the  canyons,  living  on  more 
or- less  suspicious  terms  with  grizzly  and  brown  bears, 
mountain  lions,  elk,  mountain  sheep,  spotted  deer, 
wolves,  lynxes,  wild  cats,  beavers,  minks,  skunks, 
chipmonks,  eagles,  rattlesnakes,  and  all  the  other 
two-legged,  four-legged,  vertebrate,  and  invertebrate 
inhabitants  of  this  lonely  and  romantic  region.  On 
the  whole,  they  show  a  tendency  rather  to  the  habits 
of  wild  than  of  domestic  cattle.  They  march  to 
water  in  Indian  file,  with  the  bulls  leading,  and 
when  threatened,  take  strategic  advantage  of  ridgy 
ground,  slinking  warily  along  in  the  hollows,  the 
bulls  acting  as  sentinels,  and  bringing  up  the  rear 
in  case  of  an  attack  from  dogs.  Cows  have  to  be 
regularly  broken  in  for  milking,  being  as  wild  as 
buffaloes  in  their  unbroken  state  ;  but,  owing  to  the 
•comparative  dryness  of  the  grasses,  and  the  system 
of  allowing  the  calf  to  have  the  milk  during  the 
daytime,  a  dairy  of  200  cows  does  not  produce  as 


LETTER  ix.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  147 

much  butter  as  a  Devonshire  dairy  of  fifty.  Some 
"necessary"  cruelty  is  involved  in  the  stockman's 
business,  however  human  he  may  be.  The  system 
is  one  of  terrorism,  and  from  the  time  that  the  calf  is 
bullied  into  the  branding-pen,  and  the  hot  iron  burns 
into  his  shrinking  flesh,  to  the  day  when  the  fatted 
ox  is  driven  down  from  his  boundless  pastures  to  be 
slaughtered  in  Chicago, "  the  fear  and  dread  of  man  " 
are  upon  him. 

The  herds  are  apt  to  penetrate  the  savage  canyons 
which  come  down  from  the  Snowy  Eange,  when  they 
incur  a  risk  of  being  snowed  up  and  starved,  and  it 
is  necessary  now  and  then  to  hunt  them  out  and 
drive  them  down  to  the  "  park."  On  this  occasion, 
the  whole  were  driven  down  for  a  muster,  and  for 
the  purpose  of  branding  the  calves. 

After  a  6.30  breakfast  this  morning,  we  started, 
the  party  being  composed  of  my  host,  a  hunter  from 
the  Snowy  Kange,  two  stockmen  from  the  Plains, 
one  of  whom  rode  a  violent  buck-jumper,  and  was 
said  by  his  comrade  to  be  the  "  best  rider  in  North 
Americay,"  and  myself.  We  were  all  mounted  on 
Mexican  saddles,  rode,  as  the  custom  is,  with  light 
snaffle  bridles,  leather  guards  over  our  feet,  and 
broad  wooden  stirrups,  and  each  carried  his  lunch 
in  a  pouch  slung  on  the  lassoing  horn  of  his  saddle. 
Four  big,  badly-trained  dogs  accompanied  us.  It  was 
a  ride  of  nearly  thirty  miles,  and  of  many  hours,  one 


148  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  «, 

of  the  most  splendid  I  ever  took.  We  never  got  off 
our  horses  except  to  tighten  the  girths,  we  ate  our 
lunch  with  our  bridles  knotted  over  our  saddle-horns, 
started  over  the  level  at  full  gallop,  leapt  over  trunks 
of  trees,  dashed  madly  down  hillsides  rugged  with 
rocks  or  strewn  with  great  stones,  forded  deep,  rapid 
streams,  saw  lovely  lakes  and  views  of  surpassing 
magnificence,  startled  a  herd  of  elk  with  uncouth 
heads  and  monstrous  antlers,  and  in  the  chase,  which 
for  some  time  was  unsuccessful,  rode  to  the  very  base 
of  Long's  Peak,  over  14,000  feet  high,  where  the 
bright  waters  of  one  of  the  affluents  of  the  Platte 
burst  from  the  eternal  snows  through  a  canyon  of 
indescribable  majesty.  The  sun  was  hot,  but  at  a 
height  of  over  8000  feet  the  air  was  crisp  and  frosty, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  riding  a  good  horse  under 
such  exhilarating  circumstances  was  extreme.  In 
one  wild  part  of  the  ride  we  had  to  come  down  a 
steep  hill,  thickly  wooded  with  pitch-pines,  to  leap 
over  the  fallen  timber,  and  steer  between  the  dead 
and  living  trees  to  avoid  being  "  snagged,"  or  bring- 
ing down  a  heavy  dead  branch  by  an  unwary  touch. 
Emerging  from  this,  we  caught  sight  of  a  thousand 
Texan  cattle  feeding  in  a  valley  below.  The  leaders 
scented  us,  and,  taking  fright,  began  to  move  off  ID 
the  direction  of  the  open  "park,"  while  we  were 
about  a  mile  from  and  above  them.  "  Head  them 
off,  boys!"  our  leader  shouted;  "all  aboard;  hark 


LKTTKK  ix.  THE  liOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  149 

away  !  "  and  with  something  of  the  "  High,  tally-ho 
in  the  morning ! "  away  we  all  went  at  a  hand-gallop 
down-hill.  I  could  not  hold  my  excited  animal; 
down-hill,  up-hill,  leaping  over  rocks  and  timber, 
faster  every  moment  the  pace  grew,  and  still  the 
leador  shouted,  "Go  it,  boys ! "  and  the  horses  dashed 
on  at  racing  speed,  passing  and  repassing  each  other, 
till  my  small  but  beautiful  bay  was  keeping  pace 
with  the  immense  strides  of  the  great  buck-jumper 
ridden  by  "  the  finest  rider  in  North  Americay,"  and 
I  was  dizzied  and  breathless  by  the  pace  at  which 
we  were  going.  A  shorter  time  than  it  takes  to  tell 
it  brought  us  close  to  and  abreast  of  the  surge  of 
cattle.  The  bovine  waves  were  a  grand  sight :  huge 
bulls,  shaped  like  buffaloes,  bellowed  and  roared, 
and  with  great  oxen  and  cows  with  yearling  calves, 
galloped  like  racers,  and  we  galloped  alongside  of 
them,  and  shortly  headed  them,  and  in  no  time  were 
placed  as  sentinels  across  the  mouth  of  the  valley. 
It  seemed  like  infantry  awaiting  the  shock  of  cavalry 
as  we  stood  as  still  as  our  excited  horses  would  allow. 
I  almost  quailed  as  the  surge  came  on,  but  when  it 
got  close  to  us  my  comrades  hooted  fearfully,  and  we 
dashed  forward  with  the  dogs,  and,  with  bellowing, 
roaring,  and  thunder  of  hoofs,  the  wave  receded  as 
it  came.  I  rode  up  to  our  leader,  who  received  me 
with  much  laughter.  He  said  I  was  "  a  good  cattle- 
man," and  that  he  had  forgotten  that  a  lady  was  of 


150  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  ix. 

the  party  till  he  saw  me  "come  leaping  over  the 
timber,  and  driving  with  the  others." 

It  was  not  for  two  hours  after  this  that  the  real 
business  of  driving  began,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
change  my  thoroughbred  for  a  well-trained  cattle- 
horse — a  broncho,  which  could  double  like  a  hare, 
and  go  over  any  ground.  I  had  not  expected  to 
work  like  a  vachero,  but  so  it  was,  and  my  Hawaiian 
experience  was  very  useful.  We  hunted  the  various 
canyons  and  known  "  camps,"  driving  the  herds  out 
of  them  ;  and,  until  we  had  secured  850  head  in  the 
corral  some  hours  afterwards,  we  scarcely  saw  each 
other  to  speak  to.  Our  first  difficulty  was  with  a 
herd  which  got  into  some  swampy  ground,  when  a 
cow,  which  afterwards  gave  me  an  infinity  of  trouble, 
remained  at  bay  for  nearly  an  hour,  tossing  the  dog 
three  times,  and  resisting  all  efforts  to  dislodge  her. 
She  had  a  large  yearling  calf  with  her,  and  Evans 
told  me  that  the  attachment  of  a  cow  to  her  first 
calf  is  sometimes  so  great  that  she  will  kill  her 
second  that  the  first  may  have  the  milk.  I  got  & 
herd  of  over  a  hundred  out  of  a  canyon  by  myself, 
and  drove  them  down  to  the  river  with  the  aid  of 
one  badly-broken  dog,  which  gave  me  more  trouble 
than  the  cattle.  The  getting  over  was  most  trouble- 
some; a  few  took  to  the  water  readily  and  went 
across,  but  others  smelt  it,  and  then,  doubling  back, 
ran  in  various  directions;  while  some  attacked  the 


LETTER  ix.  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  151 

dog  as  he  was  swimming,  and  others,  after  crossing, 
headed  back  in  search  of  some  favourite  companions 
which  had  been  left  behind,  and  one  specially  vicious 
cow  attacked  my  horse  over  and  over  again.  It  took 
an  hour  and  a  half  of  time  and  much  patience  to 
gather  them  all  on  the  other  side. 

It  was  getting  late  in  the  day,  and  a  snowstorm 
was  impending,  before  I  was  joined  by  the  other 
drivers  and  herds,  and  as  the  former  had  diminished 
to  three,  with  only  three  dogs,  it  was  very  difficult  to 
keep  the  cattle  together.  You  drive  them  as  gently 
as  possible,  so  as  not  to  frighten  or  excite  them,1 
riding  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the  other,  to  guide 
them  ;  and  if  they  deliberately  go  in  a  wrong  direc- 
tion, you  gallop  in  front  and  head  them  off.  The 
great  excitement  is  when  one  breaks  away  from  the 
herd  and  gallops  madly  up  and  down  hill,  and  you 

1  In  several  visits  to  America  I  have  observed  that  the  Ameri- 
cans are  far  in  advance  of  us  and  our  colonial  kinsmen  in  their 
treatment  of  horses  and  other  animals.  This  was  very  apparent 
with  regard  to  this  Texan  herd.  There  were  no  stock-whips,  no 
needless  worrying  of  the  animals  in  the  excitement  of  sport.  Any 
dog  seizing  a  bullock  by  his  tail  or  heels  would  have  been  called 
off  and  punished,  and  quietness  and  gentleness  were  the  rule.  The 
horses  were  ridden  without  whips,  and  with  spurs  so  blunt  that 
they  could  not  hurt  even  a  human  skin,  and  were  ruled  by  the 
voice  and  a  slight  pressure  on  the  light  snaffle  bridle.  This  is  the 
usual  plan,  even  where,  as  in  Colorado,  the  horses  are  brondu*,  and 
inherit  ineradicable  vice.  I  never  yet  saw  a  horse  bullitd  into  rob. 
mission  in  the  United  States. 


152  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  ix. 

gallop  after  him  anywhere,  over  and  among  rocks 
and  trees,  doubling  when  he  doubles,  and  heading 
him  till  you  get  him  back  again.  The  bulls  were 
quite  easily  managed,  but  the  cows  with  calves,  old 
or  young,  were  most  troublesome.  By  accident  I 
rode  between  one  cow  and  her  calf  in  a  narrow  place, 
and  the  cow  rushed  at  me  and  was  just  getting  her 
big  horns  under  the  horse,  when  he  reared,  and  spun 
dexterously  aside.  This  kind  of  thing  happened 
continually.  There  was  one  very  handsome  red  cow 
which  became  quite  mad.  She  had  a  calf  with  her 
nearly  her  own  size,  and  thought  every  one  its 
enemy,  and  though  its  horns  were  well  developed, 
and  it  was  quite  able  to  take  care  of  itself,  she 
insisted  on  protecting  it  from  all  fancied  dangers. 
One  of  the  dogs,  a  young,  foolish  thing,  seeing  that 
the  cow  was  excited,  took  a  foolish  pleasure  in  bark- 
ing at  her,  and  she  was  eventually  quite  infuriated. 
She  turned  to  bay  forty  times  at  least ;  tore  up  the 
ground  with  her  horns,  tossed  the  great  hunting 
dogs,  tossed  and  killed  the  calves  of  two  other  cows, 
and  finally  became  so  dangerous  to  the  rest  of  the 
herd  that,  just  as  the  drive  was  ending,  Evans  drew 
his  revolver  and  shot  her,  and  the  calf  for  which 
she  had  fought  so  blindly  lamented  her  piteously. 
She  rushed  at  me  several  times  mad  with  rage,  but 
these  trained  cattle -horses  keep  perfectly  cool,  and, 
nearly  without  will  on  my  part,  mine  jumped  aside 


.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  153 

at  the  right  moment,  and  foiled  the  assailant.  Just 
at  dusk  we  reached  the  corral — an  acre  of  grass  en- 
closed by  stout  post-and-rail  fences  seven  feet  high, 
and  by  much  patience  and  some  subtlety  lodged  the 
whole  herd  within  its  shelter,  without ,  a  blow,  a 
shout,  or  even  a  crack  of  a  whip,  wild  as  the  cattle 
were.  It  was  fearfully  cold.  We  galloped  the  last 
mil  p.  and  a  half  in  four  and  a  half  minutes,  reached 
the  cabin  just  as  snow  began  to  fall,  and  found  strong, 

hot  tea  ready. 

October  18. 

Snow-bound  for  three  days !  I  could  not  write 
yesterday,  it  was  so  awful  People  gave  up  all 
occupation,  and  talked  of  nothing  but  the  storm. 
The  hunters  all  kept  by  the  great  fire  in  the  living- 
room,  only  going  out  to  bring  in  logs  and  clear  the 
snow  from  the  door  and  windows.  I  never  spent 
a  more  fearful  night  than  two  nights  ago,  alone  in  my 
cabin  in  the  storm,  with  the  roof  lifting,  the  mud 
cracking  and  coming  off,  and  the  fine  snow  hissing 
through  the  chinks  between  the  logs,  while  splittings 
and  breaking  of  dead  branches,  wind -wrung  and 
snow -laden,  went  on  incessantly,  with  screechings, 
bowlings,  thunder  and  lightning,  and  many  unfami- 
liar sounds  besides.  After  snowing  fiercely  all  day, 
another  foot  of  it  fell  in  the  early  night,  and,  after 
drifting  against  my  door,  blocked  me  effectually  in 
About  midnight  the  mercury  fell  to  zero,  and  soon  after 


154  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  ix 

a  gale  rose,  which  lasted  for  ten  hours.  My  window 
frame  is  swelled,  and  shuts,  apparently,  hermetically; 
and  my  bed  is  six  feet  from  it.  I  had  gone  to  sleep 
with  six  blankets  on,  and  a  heavy  sheet  over  my 
face.  Between  two  and  three  I  was  awoke  by  the 
cabin  being  shifted  from  underneath  by  the  wind, 
and  the  sheet  was  frozen  to  my  lips.  I  put  out  my 
hands,  and  the  bed  was  thickly  covered  with  fine 
snow.  Getting  up  to  investigate  matters,  I  found 
the  floor  some  inches  deep  in  parts  in  fine  snow,  and 
a  gust  of  fine,  needle-like  snow  stung  my  face.  The 
bucket  of  water  was  solid  ice.  I  lay  in  bed  freezing 
till  sunrise,  when  some  of  the  men  came  to  see  if  I 
"was  alive,"  and  to  dig  me  out.  They  brought  a 
can  of  hot  water,  which  turned  to  ice  before  I  could 
use  it.  I  dressed  standing  in  snow,  and  my  brushes, 
boots,  and  etceteras  were  covered  with  snow.  When 
I  ran  to  the  house,  not  a  mountain  or  anything  else 
could  be  seen,  and  the  snow  on  one  side  was  drifted 
higher  than  the  roof.  The  air,  as  high  as  one  could 
see,  was  one  white,  stinging  smoke  of  snow-drift — a 
terrific  sight.  In  the  living-room,  the  snow  was 
driving  through  the  chinks,  and  Mrs.  Dewy  was 
shovelling  it  from  the  floor.  Mr.  D.'s  beard  was 
hoary  with  frost  in  a  room  with  a  fire  all  night. 
Evans  was  lying  ill,  with  his  bed  covered  with  snow 
Keturning  from  my  cabin  after  breakfast,  loaded 
with  occupations  for  the  day,  I  was  lifted  off  my 


LETTER  IX.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  155 

feet,  and  deposited  in  a  drift,  and  all  my  things,  writ- 
ing-book and  letter  included,  were  carried  in  different 
directions.  Some,  including  a  valuable  photograph 
are  irrecoverable.  The  writing-book  was  found,  some 
hours  afterwards,  under  three  feet  of  snow. 

There  are  tracks  of  bears  and  deer  close  to  the 
house,  but  no  one  can  hunt  in  this  gale,  and  the  drift 
is  blinding.  "We  have  been  slightly  overcrowded  in 
our  one  room.  Chess,  music,  and  whist  have  been 
resorted  to.  One  hunter,  for  very  ennui,  has  devoted 
himself  to  keeping  my  ink  from  freezing.  We  all  sat 
in  great  cloaks  and  coats,  and  kept  up  an  enormou* 
fire,  with  the  pitch  running  out  of  the  logs.  The 
isolation  is  extreme,  for  we  are  literally  snowed-up 
and  the  other  settler  in  the  Park  and  "Mountain 
Jim"  are  both  at  Denver.  Late  in  the  evening  th« 
storm  ceased.  In  some  places  the  ground  is  bare  of 
snow,  while  in  others  all  irregularities  are  levelled, 
and  the  drifts  are  forty  feet  deep.  Nature  is  grand 
under  this  new  aspect.  The  cold  is  awful ;  the  high 
wind  with  the  mercury  at  zero  would  skin  any  part 
exposed  to  it. 

October  19. 

Evans  offers  me  six  dollars  a  week  if  I   will 
stay   into    the   winter   and   do    the   cooking   after  ^ 
Mrs.  Edwards  leaves !     I  think  I  should  like  play- 
ing at  being  a  "  hired  girl "  if  it  were  not  for  the 
bread -making !     But  it  would  suit  me  better  to  ridp 


156  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEK.  ix. 

after  cattle.  The  men  don't  like  "  baching,"  as  it  is 
called  in  the  wilds — i.e.  "doing  for  themselves." 
They  washed  and  ironed  their  clothes  yesterday,  and 
there  was  an  incongruity  about  the  last  performance. 
I  really  think  (though  for  the  fifteenth  time)  that  I 
shall  leave  to-morrow.  The  cold  has  moderated,  the 
sky  is  bluer  than  ever,  the  snow  is  evaporating,  and 
a  hunter  who  has  joined  us  to-day  says  that  there  are 
no  drifts  on  the  trail  which  one  cannot  get  through. 

LCNGMOUNT,  COLORADO,  October  20. 
"  The  Island  Valley  of  Avillon  "  is  left,  but  how 
shall  1  finally  tear  myself  from  its  freedom  and  en- 
chantments ?  I  see  Long's  snowy  peak  rising  into  the 
night  sky,  and  know  and  long  after  the  magnificence 
of  the  blue  hollow  at  its  base.  We  were  to  have  left 
at  8,  but  the  horses  were  lost,  so  it  was  9.30  before 
we  started,  the  we  being  the  musical  young  French 
Canadian  and  myself.  I  have  a  bay  Indian  pony, 
"  Birdie,"  a  little  beauty,  with  legs  of  iron,  fast, 
enduring,  gentle,  and  wise;  and  with  luggage  for 
some  weeks,  including  a  black  silk  dress,  behind  my 
saddle,  I  am  tolerably  independent.  It  was  a  most 
glorious  ride.  We  passed  through  the  gates  of  rock, 
through  gorges  where  the  unsunned  snow  lay  deep 
under  the  lemon- coloured  aspens ;  caught  glimpses  of 
far-off,  snow -clad  -giants  rising  into  a  sky  of  deep  sad 
blue ;  lunched  above  the  Foot  Hills  at  a  cabin  where 


I.KTTER  IX.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  157 

two  brothers  and  a  "  hired  man "  were  "  keeping 
bach,"  where  everything  was  so  trim,  clean,  and  orna- 
mental that  one  did  not  miss  a  woman ;  crossed  a 
deep  backwater  on  a  narrow  beaver-dam,  because  the 
log  bridge  was  broken  down,  and  emerged  from  the 
brilliantly-coloured  canyon  of  the  St.  Vrain  just  at 
dusk  upon  the  featureless  prairies,  when  we  had  some 
trouble  in  finding  Longmount  in  the  dark.  A  hospi- 
table welcome  awaited  me  at  this  inn,  and  an  English 
friend  came  in  and  spent  the  evening  with  me. 

GREAT  PLATTE  CANYON,  October  28. 
My  letters  on  this  tour  will,  I  fear,  be  very  dull,  foi 
after  riding  all  day,  looking  after  my  pony,  getting 
Bupper,  hearing  about  various  routes,  and  the  pastoral, 
agricultural,  mining,  and  hunting  gossip  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood, I  am  so  sleepy  and  wholesomely  tired  that 
I  can  hardly  write.  I  left  Longmount  pretty  early 
on  Tuesday  morning,  the  day  being  sad,  with  the 
blink  of  an  impending  snowstorm  in  the  air.  The 
evening  before  I  was  introduced  to  a  man  who  had 
been  a  colonel  in  the  rebel  army,  who  made  a  most 
unfavourable  impression  upon  me,  and  it  was  a  great 
annoyance  to  me  when  he  presented  himself  on  horse- 
back to  guide  me  "  over  the  most  intricate  part  of  the 
journey."  Solitude  is  infinitely  preferable  to  uncon- 
geniality,  and  is  bliss  when  compared  with  repulsive- 
ness,  so  I  was  thoroughly  glad  when  I  got  rid  of  mj 


L58  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  rx. 

escort  and  set  out  upon  the  prairie  alone.  It  is  a 
dreary  ride  of  thirty  miles  over  the  low  brown  plains 
to  Denver,  very  little  settled,  and  with  trails  going 
in  all  directions.  My  sailing  orders  were  "  steer 
south,  and  keep  to  the  best  beaten  track,"  and  it 
seemed  like  embarking  on  the  ocean  without  a  com- 
pass. The  rolling  brown  waves  on  which  you  see  a 
horse  a  mile  and  a  half  off  impress  one  strangely,  and 
at  noon  the  sky  darkened  up  for  another  storm,  the 
mountains  swept  down  in  blackness  to  the  Plains, 
and  the  higher  peaks  took  on  a  ghastly  grimness 
horrid  to  behold.  It  was  first  very  cold,  then  very 
hot,  and  finally  settled  down  to  a  fierce  east- windy 
cold,  difficult  to  endure.  It  was  free  and  breezy, 
however,  and  my  horse  was  companionable.  Some- 
times herds  of  cattle  were  browsing  on  the  sun-cured 
grass,  then  herds  of  horses.  Occasionally  I  met  a 
horseman  with  a  rifle  lying  across  his  saddle,  or  a 
waggon  of  the  ordinary  sort,  but  oftener  I  saw  a 
waggon  with  a  white  tilt,  of  the  kind  known  as  a 
"  Prairie  Schooner,"  labouring  across  the  grass,  or  a 
train  of  them,  accompanied  by  herds,  mules,  and 
horsemen,  bearing  emigrants  and  their  household 
goods  in  dreary  exodus  from  the  Western  States  to 
the  much-vaunted  prairies  of  Colorado.  The  host 
and  hostess  of  one  of  these  waggons  invited  me  to 
join  their  mid-day  meal,  I  providing  tea  (which  they 
bad  not  tasted  for  four  weeks)  and  they  hominy 


LETTER  IX.  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  15S 

They  had  been  three  months  on  the  journey  from 
Illinois,  and  their  oxen  were  so  lean  and  weak  that 
they  expected  to  be  another  month  in  reaching  Wet 
Mountain  Valley.  They  had  buried  a  child  en  route, 
had  lost  several  oxen,  and  were  rather  out  of  heart. 
Owing  to  their  long  isolation  and  the  monotony  of 
the  march  they  had  lost  count  of  events,  and  seemed 
like  people  of  another  planet.  They  wanted  me  to 
join  them,  but  their  rate  of  travel  was  too  slow,  so  we 
parted  with  mutual  expressions  of  goodwill,  and  as 
their  white  tilt  went  "  hull  down  "  in  the  distance  on 
the  lonely  prairie  sea,  I  felt  sadder  than  I  often  feel 
on  taking  leave  of  old  acquaintances.  That  night 
they  must  have  been  nearly  frozen,  camping  out  in 
the  deep  snow  in  the  fierce  wind.  I  met  afterwards 
2000  lean  Texan  cattle,  herded  by  three  wild -looking 
men  on  horseback,  followed  by  two  waggons  contain- 
ing women,  children,  and  rifles.  They  had  travelled 
1000  miles.  Then  I  saw  two  prairie  wolves,  like 
jackals,  with  gray  fur,  cowardly  creatures,  which  fled 
from  me  with  long  leaps. 

The  windy  cold  became  intense,  and  for  the  next 
eleven  miles  I  rode  a  race  with  the  coming  storm. 
At  the  top  of  every  prairie  roll  I  expected  to  see 
Denver,  but  it  was  not  till  nearly  five  that  from  a 
considerable  height  I  looked  down  upon  the  great 
"  City  of  the  Plains,"  the  metropolis  of  the  Territories. 
There  the  great  braggart  city  lay  spread  out,  brown 


160  A  LAI»V  S  LIFE  IN  LETTEH  ix. 

and  treeless,  upon  the  brown  and  treeless  plain,  which 
seemed  to  nourish  nothing  but  wormwood  and  the 
Spanish  bayonet.  The  shallow  Platte,  shrivelled 
into  a  narrow  stream  with  a  shingly  bed  six  times 
too  large  for  it,  and  fringed  by  shrivelled  cotton- 
wood,  wound  along  by  Denver,  and  two  miles  up  its 
course  I  saw  a  great  sand-storm,  which  in  a  few 
minutes  covered  the  city,  blotting  it  out  with  a  dense 
brown  cloud.  Then  with  gusts  of  wind  the  snow- 
storm began,  and  I  had  to  trust  entirely  to  Birdie's 
sagacity  for  finding  Evans's  shantie.  She  had  been 
there  once  before  only,  but  carried  me  direct  to  it 
over  rough  ground  and  trenches.  Gleefully  Mrs. 
Evans  and  the  children  ran  out  to  welcome  the  pet 
pony,  and  I  was  received  most  hospitably,  and  made 
warm  and  comfortable,  though  the  house  consists  only 
of  a  kitchen  and  two  bed-closets.  My  budget  of  news 
from  "  the  Park  "  had  to  be  brought  out  constantly, 
and  I  wondered  how  much  I  had  to  tell.  It  was  past 
eleven  when  we  breakfasted  the  next  morning.  It 
was  cloudless  and  an  intense  frost,  with  six  inches  of 
snow  on  the  ground,  and  everybody  thought  it  too 
cold  to  get  up  and  light  the  fire.  I  had  intended  to 
leave  Birdie  at  Denver,  but  Governor  Hunt  and  Mr. 
Byers  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  Neivs  both  advised  me 
to  travel  on  horseback  rather  than  by  train  and  stage 
telling  me  that  I  should  be  quite  safe,  and  Governor 
Hunt  drew  out  a  route  for  me  and  gave  me  a  circulai 
letter  to  the  settlers  alon«j  it. 


LETTER  ix.  THE  ROCKr  MOUNTAINS.  It) I 

Denver  is  no  longer  the  Denver  of  Hep  worth 
Dixon.  A  shooting  affray  in  the  street  is  as  rare  as 
in  Liverpool,  and  one  no  longer  sees  men  dangling 
to  the  lamp-posts  when  one  looks  out  in  the  morning ! 
It  is  a  busy  place,  the  entrepdt  and  distributing-point 
for  an  immense  district,  with  good  shops,  some  fac- 
tories, fair  hotels,  and  the  usual  deformities  and 
refinements  of  civilisation.  Peltry  shops  abound,  and 
sportsman,  hunter,  miner,  teamster,  emigrant,  can  be 
completely  rigged  out  at  fifty  different  stores.  At 
Denver,  people  who  come  from  the  east  to  try  the 
"  camp  cure  "  now  so  fashionable,  get  their  outfit  of 
waggon,  driver,  horses,  tent,  bedding,  and  stove,  and 
start  for  the  mountains.  Asthmatic  people  are  there 
in  such  numbers  as  to  warrant  the  holding  of  an 
"  asthmatic  convention  "  of  patients  cured  and  bene- 
fited. Numbers  of  invalids  who  cannot  bear  the  rough 
life  of  the  mountains  fill  its  hotels  and  boarding- 
houses,  and  others  who  have  been  partially  restored 
by  a  summer  of  camping  out,  go  into  the  city  in  the 
winter  to  complete  the  cure.  It  stands  at  a  height  of 
5000  feet,  on  an  enormous  plain,  and  has  a  most 
glorious  view  of  the  Eocky  Eange.  I  should  hate 
even  to  spend  a  week  there.  The  sight  of  those 
glories  so  near  and  yet  out  of  reach  would  make  me 
nearly  crazy.  Denver  is  at  present  the  terminus  of 
the  Kansas  Pacific  Eailroad.  It  has  a  line  connect- 
ing it  with  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  at  Cheyenne. 


L62  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEITEL,  a. 

and  by  means  of  the  Denver  and  Eio  Grande  Kail* 
road,  open  for  about  200  miles,  it  is  expecting  to 
reach  into  Mexico.  It  has  also  had  the  enterprise,  by 
means  of  another  narrow-gauge  railroad,  to  push  its 
way  right  up  into  the  mining  districts  near  Gray's 
Peak.  The  number  of  "  saloons  "  in  the  streets  im- 
presses one,  and  everywhere  one  meets  the  character- 
istic loafers  of  a  frontier  town,  who  find  it  hard  even 
for  a  few  days  or  hours  to  submit  to  the  restraints  of 
civilisation,  as  hard  as  I  did  to  ride  sidewise  to 
Governor  Hunt's  office.  To  Denver  men  go  to  spend 
the  savings  of  months  of  hard  work  in  the  maddest 
dissipation,  and  there  such  characters  as  "  Comanche 
Bill,"  "Buffalo  Bill,"  "Wild  Bill,"  and  "Mountain 
Jim,"  go  on  the  spree,  and  find  the  kind  of  notoriety 
they  seek.  A  large  number  of  Indians  added  to  the 
harlequin  appearance  of  the  Denver  streets  the  day  I 
was  there.  They  belonged  to  the  lite  tribe,  through 
which  I  had  to  pass,  and  Governor  Hunt  introduced 
me  to  a  fine-looking  young  chief,  very  well  dressed  in 
beaded  hide,  and  bespoke  his  courtesy  for  me  if  I 
needed  it.  The  Indian  stores  and  fur  stores  and  fur 
depots  interested  me  most.  The  crowds  in  the  streets, 
perhaps  owing  to  the  snow  on  the  ground,  were  almost 
solely  masculine.  I  only  saw  five  women  the  whole 
day.  There  were  men  in  every  rig:  hunters  and 
trappers  in  buckskin  clothing ;  men  of  the  Plains  with 
belts  and  revolvers,  in  great  blue  cloaks,  relics  of  the 
war ;  teamsters  in  leathern  suits ;  horsemen  in  fui 


LETTBB  IX.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  163 

coats  and  caps  and  buffalo-hide  boots  with  the  hair 
outside,  and  camping  blankets  behind  their  huge 
Mexican  saddles;  Broadway  dandies  in  light  kid 
gloves ;  rich  English  sporting  tourists,  clean,  comely, 
and  supercilious-looking ;  and  hundreds  of  Indians  on 
their  small  ponies,  the  men  wearing  buckskin  suits 
sewn  with  beads,  and  red  blankets,  with  faces  painted 
vermilion,  and  hair  hanging  lank  and  straight,  and 
squaws  much  bundled  up,  riding  astride  with  fura 
over  their  saddles. 

Town  tired  and  confused  me,  and  in  spite  of  Mrs. 
Evans's  kind  hospitality,  I  was  glad  when  a  man 
brought  Birdie  at  nine  yesterday  morning.  He  said 
she  was  a  little  demon,  she  had  done  nothing  but 
buck,  and  had  bucked  him  off  on  the  bridge !  I  found 
that  he  had  put  a  curb  on  her,  and  whenever  she  dis- 
likes anything  she  resents  it  by  bucking.  I  rode  side- 
wise  till  I  was  well  through  the  town,  long  enough  to 
produce  a  severe  pain  in  my  spine,  which  was  not 
relieved  for  some  time  even  after  I  had  changed  my 
position.  It  was  a  lovely  Indian  summer  day,  so 
warm  that  the  snow  on  the  ground  looked  an  incon- 
gruity. I  rode  over  the  Plains  for  some  time,  then 
gradually  reached  the  rolling  country  along  the  base 
of  the  mountains,  and  a  stream  with  cotton-woods 
along  it,  and  settlers'  houses  about  every  half-mile. 
I  passed  and  met  waggons  frequently,  and  picked  up 
a  muff  containing  a  purse  with  five  hundred  dollars 
in  it,  which  I  afterwards  had  the  srreat  pleasure  of 


164  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 


LETTER 


restoring  to  the  owner.  Several  times  I  crossed  the 
narrow  track  of  the  quaint  little  Eio  Grande  Eailroad,. 
BO  that  it  was  a  very  cheerful  ride. 

BANCH,  PLUM  CREEK,  October  24. 
You  must  .understand  that  in  Colorado  travel,  unless 
on  the  main  road  and  in  the  larger  settlements,  there 
are  neither  hotels  nor  taverns,  and  that  it  is  the  custom' 
for  the  settlers  to  receive  travellers,  charging  them  at 
the  usual  hotel  rate  for  accommodation.  It  is  a  very 
satisfactory  arrangement.  However,  at  Kanch,  my 
first  halting-place,  the  host  was  unwilling  to  receive 
people  in  this  way,  I  afterwards  found,  or  I  certainly 
should  not  have  presented  my  credentials  at  the  door 
of  a  large  frame  house,  with  large  barns  and  a  gener- 
ally prosperous  look.  The  host,  who  opened  the  door,. 
looked  repellant,  but  his  wife,  a  very  agreeable,  lady- 
like-looking woman,  said  they  could  give  me  a  bed  on- 
a  sofa.  The  house  was  the  most  pretentious  I  have 
yet  seen,  being  papered  and  carpeted,  and  there  were 
two  "  hired  girls."  There  was  a  lady  there  from 
Laramie,  who  kindly  offered  to  receive  me  into  her 
room,  a  very  tall,  elegant  person,  remarkable  as  being 
the  first  woman  who  had  settled  in  the  Eocky  Moun- 
tains. She  had  been  trying  the  "  camp  cure  "  for 
three  mt  nths,  and  was  then  on  her  way  home.  She 
had  a  \vaggon  with  beds,  tent,  tent-floor,  cooking- 
stove,  ani  every  camp  luxury,  a  light  buggy,  a  man- 
to  manage  everything,  and  a  most  superior  "hired 


LETTER  is,  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  165 

girl"  She  was  consumptive  and  frail  in  strength,  but 
a  very  attractive  person,  and  her  stories  of  the  perils 
and  limitations  of  her  early  life  at  Fort  Laramie  were 
very  interesting.  Still  I  "  wearied,"  as  I  had  arrived 
early  in  the  afternoon,  and  could  not  out  of  politeness 
retire  and  write  to  you.  At  meals  the-  three  "  hired 
men  "  and  two  "  hired  girls  "  eat  with  the  family.  I 
soon  found  that  there  was  a  screw  loose  in  the  house, 
and  was  glad  to  leave  early  the  next  morning,  although 
It  was  obvious  that  a  storm  was  coming  on.  I  saw 
the  toy  car  of  the  Eio  Grande  Eailroad  whirl  past,  all 
cushioned  and  warmed,  and  rather  wished  I  were  in 
it,  and  not  out  among  the  snow  on  the  bleak  hill-side. 
I  only  got  on  four  miles  when  the  storm  came  on  so 
badly  that  I  got  into  a  kitchen  where  eleven  wretched 
travellers  were  taking  shelter,  with  the  snow  melting 
on  them  and  dripping  on  the  floor.  I  had  learned 
the  art  of  "  being  agreeable  "  so  well  at  the  Chalmers's, 
and  practised  it  so  successfully  during  the  two  hours 
I  was  there,  by  paring  potatoes  and  making  scones, 
that  when  I  left,  though  the  hosts  kept  "  an  accom- 
modation house  for  travellers,"  they  would  take 
nothing  for  my  entertainment,  because  they  said  I 
was  such  "  good  company" !  The  storm  moderated  a 
little,  and  at  one  T  saddled  Birdie,  and  rode  four  more 
miles,  crossing  a  frozen  creek,  the  ice  of  which  broke 
and  let  the  pony  through,  to  her  great  alarm.  I 
cannot  describe  my  feelings  on  this  ride,  produced  by 
the  utter  loneliness,  the  silenne  nnrl  dumbness  of  all 


166  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  ix 

things,  the  snow  falling  quietly  without  wind,  the 
obliterated  mountains,  the  darkness,  the  intense  cold, 
and  the  unusual  and  appalling  aspect  of  nature.  All 
life  was  in  a  shroud,  all  work  and  travel  suspended. 
There  was  not  a  foot-mark  or  wheel-mark.  There 
was  nothing  to  be  afraid  of;  and  though  I  can't 
exactly  say  that  I  enjoyed  the  ride,  yet  there  was  the 
pleasant  feeling  of  gaining  health  every  hour. 

When  the  snow  darkness  began  to  deepen  towards 
evening,  the  track  became  quite  illegible,  and  when 
I  found  myself  at  this  romantically  situated  cabin,  I 
was  thankful  to  find  that  they  could  give  me  shelter. 
The  scene  was  a  solemn  one,  and  reminded  me  of  a 
description  in  Whittier's  Snow-Bound.  All  the  stock 
came  round  the  cabin  with  mute  appeals  for  shelter. 
Sheep-dogs  got  in,  and  would  not  be  kicked  out 
Men  went  out  muffled  up,  and  came  back  shivering 
and  shaking  the  snow  from  their  feet.  The  churn 
was  put  by  the  stove.  Later  on,  a  most  pleasant 
settler,  on  his  way  to  Denver,  came  in,  his  waggon 
having  been  snow-blocked  two  miles  off,  where  he 
had  been  obliged  to  leave  it  and  bring  his  horses  on 
here.  The  "Grey  Mare"  had  a  stentorian  voice, 
smoked  a  clay  pipe  which  she  passed  to  her  children, 
raged  at  English  people,  derided  the  courtesy  of 
English  manners,  and  considered  that  "Please," 
"  Thank  you,"  and  the  like,  were  "  all  bosh "  when 
life  was  so  short  and  busy.  And  still  the  snow  fel] 
«oftlv  nnH  HIP  air  and  o°ivMi  wpre  silont. 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAIN* 


LETTER  X. 

A  White  World — Bad  Travelling — A  Millionaire's  Home— Pleasant 
ParL— Perry's  Park— Stock-raising— A  Cattle  King—The 
Arkansas  Divide — Birdie's  Sagacity— Luxury — Monument 
Park — Deference  to  Prejudice— A  Death  Scene — The  Manitou— 
A  loose  Shoe— The  Ute  Pass— Bergens  Park— A  Settler's  Home 
— Hayden's  Divide — Sharp  Criticism — Speaking  the  truth. 

COLORADO  SPRINGS,  October  28. 

IT  is  difficult  to  make  this  anything  of  a  letter.  I 
have  been  riding  for  a  whole  week,  seeing  wonders 
and  greatly  enjoying  the  singular  adventurousness 
and  novelty  of  my  tour,  but  ten  hours  or  more  daily 
spent  in  the  saddle  in  this  rarefied,  intoxicating  air, 
disposes  one  to  sleep  rather  than  to  write  in  the  even- 
ing, and  is  far  from  conducive  to  mental  brilliancy. 
The  observing  faculties  are  developed,  and  the  reflec- 
tive lie  dormant. 

That  night  on  which  I  last  wrote  was  the  coldest 
I  have  yet  felt  I  pulled  the  rag  carpet  from  the 
floor  and  covered  myself  with  it,  but  could  not  get 
warm.  The  sun  rose  gloriously  on  a  shrouded  earth. 
Barns,  road,  shrubs,  fences,  river,  lake,  all  lay  under 
the  glittering  snow.  It  was  light  and  powdery,  and 


168  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  x. 

sparkled  like  diamonds.  Not  a  breath  of  wind  stirred; 
there  was  not  a  sound.  I  had  to  wait  till  a  passing 
horseman  had  broken  the  track,  but  soon  after  I  set 
off  into  the-  new,  shining  world.  I  soon  lost  the 
horseman's  footmarks,  but  kept  on  near  the  road  by 
means  of  the  innumerable  footprints  of  birds  and 
ground  squirrels,  which  all  went  in  one  direction, 
After  riding  for  an  hour  I  was  obliged  to  get  off  and 
walk  for  another,  for  the  snow  balled  in  Birdie's  feet 
to  such  an  extent  that  she  could  hardly  keep  up  even 
without  my  weight  on  her,  and  my  pick  was  not 
strong  enough  to  remove  it.  Turning  off  the  road  to 
ask  for  a  chisel,  I  came  upon  the  cabin  of  the  people 
whose  muff  I  had  picked  up  a  few  days  before,  and 
they  received  me  very  warmly,  gave  me  a  tumbler  of 
cream,  and  made  some  strong  coffee.  They  were 
"  old  country  folk,"  and  I  stayed  too  long  with  them. 
After  leaving  them  I  rode  twelve  miles,  but  it  was 
"  bad  travelling,"  from  the  balling  of  the  snow  and 
the  difficulty  of  finding  the  track.  There  was  a  fear- 
ful loneliness  about  it.  The  track  was  untrodden,  and 
I  saw*  neither  man  nor  beast.  The  sky  became 
densely  clouded,  and  the  outlook  was  awful.  The 
great  Divide  of  the  Arkansas  was  in  front,  looming 
Vaguely  through  a  heavy  snow-cloud,  and  snow  began 
to  fall,  not  in  powder,  but  in  heavy  flakes.  Finding 
that  there  would  be  risk  in  trying  to  ride  till  night- 
fell,  in  the  early  afternoon  I  left  the  road  and  went  two 


LETTER  x.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  169 

miles  into  the  lulls  by  an  untrodden  path,  where  there 
W3Te  gates  to  open  and  a  rapid  steep-sided  creek  to 
cross ;  and  at  the  entrance  to  a  most  fantastic  gorge 
I  came  upon  an  elegant  frame  house  belonging  to 
Mr.  Peny,  a  millionaire,  to  whom  I  had  an  introduc- 
tion which  I  did  not  hesitate  to  present,  as  it  was 
weather  in  which  a  traveller  might  almost  ask?"  for 
shelter  without  one. 

Mr.  Perry  was  away,  but  his  daughter,  a  very 
bright-looking,  elegantly-dressed  girl,  invited  me  to 
dine  and  remain.  They  had  stewed  venison  and 
various  luxuries  on  the  table,  which  was  tasteful  and 
refined,  and  an  adroit,  coloured  table-maid  waited,  one 
of  five  attached  negro  servants  who  had  been  their 
slaves  before  the  war.  After  dinner,  though  snow 
was  slowly  falling,  a  gentleman  cousin  took  me  a  ride 
to  show  me  the  beauties  of  Pleasant  Park,  which  takes 
rank  among  the  finest  scenery  of  Colorado,  and  in 
good  weather  is  very  easy  of  access.  It  did  look  very 
grand  as  we  entered  it  by  a  narrow  pass  guarded  by 
two  buttes,  or  isolated  upright  masses  of  rock,  bright 
red,  and  about  300  feet  in  height.  The  pines  were 
very  large,  and  the  narrow  canyons  which  came  down 
on  the  Park  gloomily  magnificent.  It  is  remarkable 
also  from  a  quantity  of  "  monumental "  rocks,  from 
50  to  300  feet  in  height,  bright  vermilion,  green,  buff, 
orange,  and  sometimes  all  combined,  their  gay  tinting  a 
contrast  to  the  disastrous-looking  snow  and  the  sombre 


170  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  x, 

pines.  Bear  Canyon,  a  gorge  of  singular  majesty, 
comes  down  on  the  Park,  and  we  crossed  the  Bear 
Creek  at  the  foot  of  this  on  the  ice,  which  gave  way, 
and  both  our  horses  broke  through  into  pretty  deep 
and  very  cold  water,  and  shortly  afterwards  Birdie 
put  her  foot  into  a  prairie  dog's  hole  which  was  con- 
cealed by  the  snow,  and  on  recovering  herself  fell 
three  times  on  her  nose.  I  thought  of  Bishop  Wilber- 
force's  fatal  accident  from  a  smaller  stumble,  and 
felt  sure  that  he  would  have  kept  his  seat  had  he 
been  mounted,  as  I  was,  on  a  Mexican  saddle.  It 
was  too  threatening  for  a  long  ride,  and  on  returning 
I  passed  into  a  region  of  vivacious  descriptions  of 
Egypt,  Palestine,  Asia  Minor,  Turkey,  Eussia,  and 
other  countries,  in  which  Miss  Perry  had  travelled 
with  her  family  for  three  years. 

Perry's  Park  is  one  of  the  great  cattle-raising 
ranches  in  Colorado.  This,  the  youngest  State  in  tha 
Union,  a  Territory  until  quite  recently,  has  an  area 
of  about  68,000,000  acres,  a  great  portion  of  which, 
though  rich  in  mineral  wealth,  is  worthless  either  for 
stock  or  arable  farming,  and  the  other  or  eastern  part 
is  so  dry  that  crops  can  only  be  grown  profitably 
where  irrigation  is  possible.  This  region  is  watered 
by  the  south  fork  of  the  Platte  and  its  affluents,  and, 
though  subject  to  the  grasshopper  pest,  it  produces 
wheat  of  the  finest  quality,  the  yield  varying  accord- 
Ing  to  the  mode  of  cultivation  from  18  to  30  bushels 


LETTER  x.  THE  110CKY  MOUNTAINS.  171 

| 

per  acre.  The  necessity  for  irrigation,  however,  will 
always  bar  tfie  way  to  an  indefinite  extension  of  the 
area  of  arable  farms.  The  prospects  of  cattle-raising 
seem  at  present  practically  unlimited.  In  1876 
Colorado  had  390,728,  valued  at  £2  : 13s.  per  head, 
about  half  of  which  were  imported  as  young  beasts 
from  Texas.  The  climate  is  so  fine  and  the  pasturage 
BO  ample  that  shelter  and  hand -feeding  are  never 
resorted  to  except  in  the  case  of  imported  breeding 
stock  from  the  Eastern  States,  which  sometimes  in 
severe  winters  need  to  be  fed  in  sheds  for  a  short 
time.  Mr.  Perry  devotes  himself  mainly  to  the 
breeding  of  graded  shorthorn  bulls,  which  he  sells 
when  young  for  £6  per  head. 

The  cattle  run  at  large  upon  the  prairies ;  each 
animal  being  branded,  they  need  no  herding,  and  are 
usually  only  mustered,  counted,  and  the  increase 
branded  in  the  summer.  In  the  fall,  when  three  or 
four  years  old,  they  are  sold  lean  or  in  tolerable  con- 
dition to  dealers  who  take  them  by  rail  to  Chicago, 
or  elsewhere,  where  the  fattest  lots  are  slaughtered 
for  tinning  or  for  consumption  in  the  Eastern  cities, 
while  the  leaner  are  sold  to  farmers  for  feeding  up 
during  the  winter.  Some  of  the  wealthier  stockmen 
take  their  best  lots  to  Chicago  themselves.  The 
Colorado  cattle  are  either  pure  Texan  or  Spanish,  01 
crosses  between  the  Texan  and  graded  shorthorns. 
They  are  nearly  all  very  inferior  animals,  being  l»ony 


172  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEK  x. 

and  ragged.  The  herds  mix  on  the  vast  plains  at 
will ;  along  the  Arkansas  valley  80,000  roam  about 
with  the  freedom  of  buffaloes,  and  of  this  number 
about  16,000  are  exported  every  fall.  Where  cattle 
are  killed  for  use  in  the  mining  districts  their  average 
price  is  3  cents  per  Ib.  In  the  summer  thousands  of 
yearlings  are  driven  up  from  Texas,  branded,  and 
turned  loose  on  the  prairies,  and  are  not  molested 
-again  till  they  are  sent  east  at  three  or  four  years  old. 
These  pure  Texans,  the  old  Spanish  breed,  weigh  from 
900  to  1000  pounds,  and  the  crossed  Colorado  cattle 
from  1000  to  1200  pounds. 

The  "Cattle  King"  of  the  State  is  Mr.  Hiff,  of 
South  Platte,  who  owns  nine  ranches,  with  runs  of 
15,000  acres,  and  35,000  cattle.  He  is  improving  his 
herd  rapidly  by  means  of  imported  shorthorn  stock  ; 
and,  indeed,  the  opening  of  the  dead-meat  trade  with 
this  country  is  giving  a  great  impetus  to  the  improve- 
ment of  the  breed  of  cattle  among  all  the  larger  and 
richer  stock-owners.  For  this  enormous  herd  40  men 
are  employed  in  summer,  about  12  in  winter,  and  200 
horses.  In  the  rare  case  of  a  severe  and  protracted 
snow-storm  the  cattle  get  a  little  hay.  Owners  of 
6000,  8000,  and  10,000  head  of  cattle  are  quite  com- 
mon in  Colorado.  Sheep  are  now  raised  in  the  State 
to  the  extent  of  half  a  million,  and  a  chronic  feud 
prevails  between  the  "  sheep  men "  and  the  "  cattle 
men."  Sheep-raising  is  said  to  be  a  very  profitable 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  173 

business,  but  its  risks  and  losses  are  greater,  owing 
to  storms,  while  the  outlay  for  labour,  dipping 
materials,  etc.,  is  considerably  larger,  and  owing  to 
the  comparative  inability  of  sheep  to  scratch  away 
'the  snow  from  the  grass,  hay  has  to  be  provided  to 
meet  the  emergency  of  very  severe  snow-storms. 
The  flocks  are  made  up  mostly  of  pure  and  graded 
Mexicans ;  but  though  some  flocks  which  have  been 
rgraded  carefully  for  some  years  show  considerable 
merit,  the  average  sheep  is  a  leggy,  ragged  beast. 
Wether  mutton,  four  and  five  years  old,  is  sold  when 
there  is  any  demand  for  it ;  but  except  at  Charpiot's, 
in  Denver,  I  never  saw  mutton  on  any  table,  public 
or  private,  and  wool  is  the  great  source  of  profit,  the 
old  ewes  being  allowed  to  die  off.  The  best  flocks 
yield  an  average  of  seven  pounds  of  wool,  and  the 
worst  two  and  a  half  pounds.  The  shearing  season, 
which  begins  in  early  June,  lasts  about  six  weeks. 
Shearers  get  six  and  a  half  cents  a  head  for  inferior 
sheep,  and  seven  and  a  half  for  the  better  quality, 
and  a  good  hand  shears  from  sixty  to  eighty  in  a  day. 
It  is  not  likely  that  sheep-raising  will  attain  anything 
of  the  prominence  which  cattle-raising  is  likely  to 
assume.  The  potato-beetle  "  scare  "  is  not  of  much 
account  in  the  country  of  the  potato-beetle.  The 
farmers  seem  much  more  depressed  by  the  magni- 
tude and  persistency  of  the  grasshopper  pest,  which 
finds  their  fields  in  the  morning  "as  the  garden  of 


174  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 

Eden,"  and  leaves  them  at  night  "  a  desolate  wilder- 
ness." 

It  was  so  odd  and  novel  to  have  a  beautiful  bed- 
room, hot  water,  and  other  luxuries.  The  snow  began 
to  fall  in  good  earnest  at  six  in  the  evening,  and  fell 
all  night,  accompanied  by  intense  frost,  so  that  in 
the  morning  there  were  eight  inches  of  it  glittering 
in  the  sun.  Miss  P.  gave  me  a  pair  of  men's  socks 
to  draw  on  over  my  boots,  and  I  set  out  tolerably 
early,  and  broke  my  own  way  for  two  miles.  Then 
a  single  waggon  had  passed,  making  a  legible  track 
for  thirty  miles,  otherwise  the  snow  was  pathless. 
The  sky  was  absolutely  cloudless,  and  as  I  made  the 
long  ascent  of  the  Arkansas  Divide,  the  mountains, 
gashed  by  deep  canyons,  came  sweeping  down  to  the 
valley  on  my  right,  and  on  my  left  the  Foot  Hills 
were  crowned  with  coloured  fantastic  rocks  like 
castles.  Everything  was  buried  under  a  glittering 
shroud  of  snow.  The  babble  of  the  streams  was 
bound  by  fetters  of  ice.  No  branches  creaked  in  the 
still  air.  No  birds  sang.  No  one  passed  or  met  me. 
There  were  no  cabins  near  or  far.  The  only  sound 
was  the  crunch  of  the  snow  under  Birdie's  feet.  We 
came  to  a  river  over  which  some  logs  were  laid  with 
some  young  trees  across  them.  Birdie  put  one  foot 
on  this,  then  drew  it  back  Lnd  put  another  on,  then 
smelt  the  bridge  noisily.  Persuasions  wore  useless ; 
Bhe  only  smelt,  snorted,  beld  back,  and  turned  hef 


LETTER  x.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  175 

cunning  head  and  looked  at  me.  It  was  useless  to 
argue  the  point  with  so  sagacious  a  beast.  To  the 
right  of  the  bridge  the  ice  was  much  broken,  and  we 
forded  the  river  there ;  but  as  it  was  deep  enough  to 
come  up  to  her  body,  and  was  icy  cold  to  my  feet,  I 
wondered  at  her  preference.  Afterwards  I  heard  that 
the  bridge  was  dangerous.  She  is  the  queen  of  ponies, 
and  is  very  gentle,  though  she  has  not  only  wild  horse 
blood,  but  is  herself  the  wild  horse.  She  is  always 
cheerful  and  hungry,  never  tired,  looks  intelligently 
at  everything,  and  her  legs  are  like  rocks.  Her  one 
trick  is  that  when  the  saddle  is  put  on  she  swells 
herself  to  a  very  large  size,  so  that  if  any  one  not 
accustomed  to  her  saddles  her  I  soon  find  the  girth 
three  or  four  inches  too  large.  When  I  saddle  her  a 
gentle  slap  on  her  side,  or  any  slight  start  which 
makes  her  cease  to  hold  her  breath,  puts  it  all  right 
She  is  quite  a  companion,  and  bathing  her  back, 
sponging  her  nostrils,  and  seeing  her  fed  after  my 
day's  ride,  is  always  my  first  care. 

At  last  I  reached  a  log  cabin  where  I  got  a  feed 
for  us  both  and  further  directions.  The  rest  of  the 
day's  ride  was  awful  enough.  The  snow  was  thirteen 
inches  deep,  and  grew  deeper  as  I  ascended  in  silence 
and  loneliness,  but  just  as  the  sun  sank  behind  a 
snowy  peak  I  reached  the  top  of  the  Divide,  7975 
feet  above  the  sea-level  There,  in  unspeakable  soli 
tude,  lay  a  frozen  lake.  Owls  hooted  among  the  pines 


176-  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEITEB  x, 

the  trail  was  obscure,  the  country  was  not  settled,  the 
mercury  wa?s  9°  below  zero,  my  feet  had  lost  all  sen- 
sation, and  one  of  them  was  frozen  to  the  wooden? 
stirrup.  I  found  that  owing  to  the  depth  of  the  snow 
I  had  only  ridden  fifteen  miles  in  eight  and  a  half 
hours,  and  must  look  about  for  a  place  to  sleep  in. 
The  eastern  sky  was  unlike  anything  I  ever  saw 
before.  It  had  been  chrysoprase,  then  it  turned  to 
aquamarine,  and  that  to  the  bright  full  green  of  an. 
emerald.  Unless  I  am  colour-blind,  this  is  true. 
Then  suddenly  the  whole  changed,  and  flushed  with, 
the  pure,  bright,  rose-colour  of  the  afterglow.  Birdie- 
was  sliding  at  every  step,  and  I  was  nearly  paralysed 
with  the  cold  when  I  reached  a  cabin  which  had  been, 
mentioned  to  me,  but  they  said  that  seventeen  snow- 
bound men  were  lying  on  the  floor,  and  they  advised 
me  to  ride  half  a  mile  farther,  which  I  did,  and 
reached  the  house  of  a  German  from  Eisenau,  with  a^ 
sweet  young  wife  and  a  venerable  mother-in-law. 
Though  the  house  was  very  poor,  it  was  made  attrac- 
tive by  ornaments,  and  the  simple,  loving,  Gemian 
ways  gave  it  a  sweet  home  atmosphere.  My  room 
was  reached  by  a  ladder,  but  I  had  it  to  myself  and 
had  the  luxury  of  a  basin  to  wash  in.  Under  the 
kindly  treatment  of  the  two  women  my  feet  came  to 
themselves,  but  with  an  amount  of  pain  that  almost 
deserved  the  name  of  torture. 

The  next  morning  was  gray  and  sour,  but  bright- 


LKTTBRX.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  177 

ened  and  wanned  as  the  day  went  on.  After  rifling 
twelve  miles  I  got  bread  and  milk  for  myself  and  a 
feed  for  Birdie  at  a  large  house  where  there  were  eight 
boarders,  each  one  looking  nearer  the  grave  than  the 
other,  and  on  remounting  was  directed  to  leave  the 
main  road  and  diverge  through  Monument  Park,  a 
ride  of  twelve  miles  among  fantastic  rocks,  but  I  lost 
my  way,  and  came  to  an  end  of  all  tracks  in  a  wild 
canyon.  Eeturning  about  six  miles,  I  took  another 
track,  and  rode  about  eight  miles  without  seeing  a 
creature.  I  then  came  to  strange  gorges  with  wonder- 
ful upright  rocks  of  all  shapes  and  colours,  and  turn- 
ing through  a  gate  of  rock,  came  upon  what  I  knew 
must  be  Glen  Eyrie,  as  wild  and  romantic  a  glen  as 
imagination  ever  pictured.  The  track  then  passed 
down  a  valley  close  under  some  ghastly  peaks,  wild, 
cold,  awe-inspiring  scenery.  After  fording  a  creek 
several  times,  I  came  upon  a  decayed-looking  cluster 
of  houses  bearing  the  arrogant  name  of  Colorado  City, 
and  two  miles  farther  on,  from  the  top  of  one  of  the 
Foot  Hill  ridges,  I  saw  the  bleak-looking  scattered 
houses  of  the  ambitious  watering-place  of  Colorado 
Springs,  the  goal  of  my  journey  of  150  miles.  I  got 
off,  put  on  a  long  skirt,  and  rode  sidewise,  though  the 
settlement  scarcely  looked  like  a  place  where  any 
deference  to  prejudices,  was  necessary.  A  queer 
embryo-looking  place  it  is,  out  on  the  bare  Plains, 
yet  it  is  rising  and  likely  to  rise,  and  has  some  big: 


178  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEIIER  x. 

hotels  much  resorted  to.  It  has  a  fine  view  of  the 
mountains,  specially  of  Pike's  Peak,  but  the  celebrated 
springs  are  at  Manitou,  three  miles  off,  in  really  fine 
scenery.  To  me  no  place  could  be  more  unattractive 
than  Colorado  Springs,  from  its  utter  treelessness. 

I  found  the s  living  in  a  small  room  which 

served  for  parlour,  bedroom,  and  kitchen,  and  com- 
bined the  comforts  of  all.  It  is  inhabited  also  by  two 
prairie  dogs,  a  kitten,  and  a  deerhound.  It  was  truly 

homelike.     Mrs. cooked  an  excellent  steak,  and 

her  husband  got  the  tea  ready.  They  dispense  with 
the  dubious  comfort  and  certain  discomfort  of  a 

"hired  girl."     Mrs.   walked  with  me  to   the 

boarding-house  where  I  slept,  and  we  sat  some  time 
in  the  parlour  talking  with  the  landlady.  Opposite 
to  me  there  was  a  door  wide  open  into  a  bedroom, 
and  on  a  bed  opposite  to  the  door  a  very  sick-looking 
young  man  was  half  lying,  half  sitting,  fully  dressed, 
supported  by  another,  and  a  very  sick-looking  young 
man  much  resembling  him  passed  in  and  out  occa- 
sionally, or  leaned  on  the  chimney-piece  in  an  attitude 
of  extreme  dejection.  Soon  the  door  was  half-closed, 
and  some  one  came  to  it,  saying  rapidly,  "  Shields, 
quick,  a  candle !"  and  then  there  were  movings  about 
in  the  room.  All  this  time  the  seven  or  eight  people 
in  the  room  in  which  I  was  were  talking,  laughing, 
and  playing  backgammon,  and  none  laughed  louder 
than  the  landlady,  who  was  sitting  where  she  saw  that 


JJBTTEBT.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  179 

mysterious  door  as  plainly  as  I  did.  All  this  time, 
and  during  the  movings  in  the  room,  I  saw  two  large 
white  feet  sticking  up  at  the  end  of  the  bed.  I 
watched  and  watched,  hoping  those  feet  would  move, 
but  they  did  not ;  and  somehow,  to  my  thinking,  they 
grew  stiffer  and  whiter,  and  then  my  horrible  sus- 
picion deepened,  that  while  we  were  sitting  there  a 
human  spirit  untended  and  desolate  had  passed  forth 
into  the  night  Then  a  man  came  out  with  a  bundle 
of  clothes,  and  then  the  sick  young  man,  groaning  and 
sobbing,  and  then  a  third,  who  said  to  me,  with  some 
feeling,  that  the  man  who  had  just  died  was  the  sick 
young  man's  only  brother.  And  still  the  landlady 
laughed  and  talked,  and  afterwards  said  to  me,  "  It 
turns  the  house  upside  down  when  they  just  come 
here  and  die ;  we  shall  be  half  the  night  laying  him 
out."  I  could  not  sleep  for  the  bitter  cold  and  the 
sound  of  the  sobs  and  groans  of  the  bereaved  brother. 
The  next  day  the  landlady,  in  a  fashionably-made 
black  dress,  was  bustling  about,  proud  of  the  prospec- 
tive arrival  of  a  handsome  coffin.  I  went  into  the 
parlour  to  get  a  needle,  and  the  door  of  that  room  was 
open,  and  children  were  running  in  and  out,  and  the 
landlady,  who  was  sweeping  there,  called  cheerily  to 
me  to  come  in  for  the  needle,  and  there,  to  my  horror, 
not  even  covered  with  a  face-cloth,  and  with  the  sun 
blazing  in  through  the  unblinded  window,  lay  that 
thing  of  terror,  a  corpse,  on  some  chairs  which  were 


180  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LK-ITKR  x. 

not  even  placed  straight.  It  was  buried  in  the  after- 
noon, and  from  the  looks  of  the  brother,  who  con- 
tinued to  sob  and  moan,  his  end  cannot  be  far  off. 

The s  say  that  many  go  to  the  Springs  in  the 

last  stags  of  consumption,  thinking  that  the  Colorado 
climate  will  cure  them,  without  money  enough  to  pay 
for  even  the  coarsest  board.  We  talked  most  of  that 
day,  and  I  equipped  myself  with  arctics  and  warm 
gloves  for  the  mountain  tour  which  has  been  planned 
for  me,  and  I  gave  Birdie  the  Sabbath  she  was  entitled 
to  on  Tuesday,  for  I  found,  on  arriving  at  the  Springs, 
that  the  day  I  crossed  the  Arkansas  Divide  was  Sun- 
day, though  I  did  not  know  it.  Several  friends  of 
Miss  Kingsley  called  on  me ;  she  is  much  remem- 
bered and  beloved.  This  is  not  an  expensive  tour , 
we  cost  about  ten  shillings  a  day,  and  the  five  days 
which  I  have  spent  en  route  from  Denver  have  cost 
something  less  than  the  fare  for  the  few  hours' 
journey  by  the  cars.  There  are  no  real  difficulties. 
It  is  a  splendid  life  for  health  and  enjoyment.  All 
my  luggage  being  in  a  pack,  and  my  conveyance  being 
a  horse,  we  can  go  anywhere  where  we  can  get  food 
and  shelter. 

GREAT  GORGE  OF  THE  MANITOU,  October  29. 
This  is  a  highly  picturesque  place,  with  several 
springs,  still  and   effervescing,  the  virtues  of  which 
were  well  known  to  the  Indians.     Near  it  are  places. 


LBTTER  x.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  181 

the  names  of  which  are  familiar  to  every  one — the 
Garden  of  the  Gods,  Glen  Eyrie,  Pike's  Peak,  Monu- 
ment Park,  and  the  Ute  Pass.  It  has  two  or  three 
immense  hotels,  and  a  few  houses  picturesquely  situ- 
ated. It  is  thronged  by  thousands  of  people  in  the 
Bummer  who  come  to  drink  the  waters,  try  the  camp 
cure,  and  make  mountain  excursions;  but  it  is  all 
quiet  now,  and  there  are  only  a  few  lingerers  in  this 
immense  hotel.  There  is  a  rushing  torrent  in  a 
valley,  with  mountains,  covered  with  snow  and  rising 
to  a  height  of  nearly  15,000  feet,  overhanging  it.  It 
is  grand  and  awful,  and  has  a  strange,  solemn  beauty 
like  death.  And  the  Snowy  Mountains  are  pierced 
by  the  torrent  which  has  excavated  the  Ute  Pass,  by 
which,  to-morrow,  I  hope  to  go  into  the  higher  regions. 
But  all  may  be  "  lost  for  want  of  a  horseshoe-nail." 
One  of  Birdie's  shoes  is  loose,  and  not  a  nail  is  to  be 
got  here,  or  can  be  got  till  I  have  ridden  for  ten  miles 
up  the  Pass.  Birdie  amuses  every  one  with  her 
funny  ways.  She  always  follows  me  closely,  and 
to-day  got  quite  into  a  house  and  pushed  the  parlour- 
door  open.  She  walks  after  me  with  her  head  laid 
on  my  shoulder,  licking  my  face  and  teasing  me  for 
sugar ;  and  sometimes,  when  any  one  else  takes  hold 
of  her,  she  rears  and  kicks,  and  the  vicious  broncho 
soul  comes  into  her  eyes.  Her  face  is  cunning  and 
pretty,  and  she  makes  a  funny,  blarneying  noise  when 
I  go  up  to  her.  The  men  at  all  the  'stables  make  § 


182  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEE  x 

fuss  with  her,  and  call  her  "  Pet."  She  gallops  up  and 
down  hill,  and  never  stumbles  even  on  the  roughest 
ground,  or  requires  even  a  touch  with  a  whip. 

The  weather  is  again  perfect,  with  a  cloudless  sky 
and  a  hot  sun,  and  the  snow  is  all  off  the  plains  and 

lower  valleys.     After  lunch,  the  s  in  a  buggy, 

and  I  on  Birdie,  left  Colorado  Springs,  crossing  the 
Mesa,  a  high  hill  with  a  table  top,  with  a  view  of 
extraordinary  laminated  rocks,  leaves  of  rock  a  bright 
vermilion  colour,  against  a  background  of  snowy 
mountains,  surmounted  by  Pike's  Peak.  Then  we 
plunged  into  cavernous  Glen  Eyrie,  with  its  fantastic 
needles  of  coloured  rock,  and  were  entertained  at 
General  Palmer's  "  baronial  mansion,"  a  perfect  eyrie, 
the  fine  hall  filled  with  buffalo,  elk,  and  deer  heads, 
skins  of  wild  animals,  stuffed  birds,  bear  robes,  and 
numerous  Indian  and  other  weapons  and  trophies. 
Then,  through  a  gate  of  huge  red  rocks,  we  passed 
into  the  valley,  called  fantastically,  Garden  of  the 
Gods,  in  which,  were  I  a  divinity,  I  certainly  would 
not  choose  to  dwell.  Many  places  in  this  neighbour- 
hood are  also  vulgarised  by  grotesque  names.  From 
this  we  passed  into  a  ravine,  down  which  the  Foun- 
tain river  rushed,  and  there  I  left  my  friends  with 
regret,  and  rode  into  this  chill  and  solemn  gorge,  from 
which  the  mountains,  reddening  in  the  sunset,  are 
only  seen  afar  off.  I  put  Birdie  up  at  a  stable,  and 
as  there  was  nd  place  to  put  myself  up  but  this  huge 


LETTER  x.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  183 

hotel,  I  came  here  to  have  a  last  taste  of  luxury. 
They  charge  six  dollars  a  day  in  the  season,  but  it  is 
now  half- price;  and  instead  of  four  hundred  fashionable 
guests  there  are  only  fifteen,  most  of  whom  are  speak- 
ing in  the  weak,  rapid  accents  of  consumption,  and  are 
coughing  their  hearts  out.  There  are  seven  medicinal 
springs.  It  is  strange  to  have  the  luxuries  of  life  in 
my  room.  It  will  be  only  the  fourth  night  in  Color- 
ado that  I  have  slept  on  anything  better  than  hay  or 
straw.  I  am  glad  that  there  are  so  few  inns.  As  it 
is,  I  get  a  good  deal  of  insight  into  the  homes  and 
modes  of  living  of  the  settlers. 

BBRGENS  PARK,  October  SI. 

This  cabin  was  so  dark,  and  I  so  sleepy  last  night, 
that  I  could  not  write ;  but  the  frost  during  the  night 
has  been  very  severe,  and  I  am  detained  until  the 
bright,  hot  sun  melts  the  ice  and  renders  travelling 
safe.  I  left  the  great  Manitou  at  ten  yesterday.  Birdie, 
who  was  loose  in  the  stable,  came  trotting  down  the 
middle  of  it  when  she  saw  me  for  her  sugar  and  biscuits. 
No  nails  could  be  got,  and  her  shoe  was  hanging  by 
two,  which  doomed  me  to  a  foot's-pace  and  the  dismal 
clink  of  a  loose  shoe  for  three  hours.  There  was  not 
a  cloud  on  the  bright  blue  sky  the  whole  day,  and 
though  it  froze  hard  in  the  shade,  it  was  summer-heat 
in  the  sun.  The  mineral  fountains  were  sparkling  in 
their  basins  and  sending  up  their  full  perennial  jots 


184  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  IJETTKR  x. 

but  the  snow-clad,  pine-skirted  mountains  frowned 
and  darkened  over  the  Ute  Pass  as  I  entered  it  to 
ascend  it  for  twenty  miles.  A  narrow  pass  it  is,  with 
barely  room  for  the  torrent  and  the  waggon  road  which 
has  been  blasted  out  of  its  steep  sides.  All  the  time 
I  was  in  sight  of  the  Fountain  river,  brighter  than 
any  stream,  because  it  tumbles  over  rose-red  granite, 
rocky  or  disintegrated,  a  truly  fair  stream,  cutting  and 
forcing  its  way  through  hard  rocks,  under  arches  of 
alabaster  ice,  through  fringes  of  crystalline  ice,  thump- 
ing with  a  hollow  sound  in  cavernous  recesses  cold 
and  dark,  or  leaping  in  foam  from  heights  with  rush 
and  swish  ;  always  bright  and  riotous,  never  pausing 
in  still  pools  to  rest,  dashing  through  gates  of  rock, 
pine-hung,  pine-bridged,  pine-bnried  ;  twinkling  and 
laughing  in  the  sunshine,  o;  frowning  in  "dowie 
dens  "  in  the  blue  pine  gloom.  And  there,  for  a  mile 
or  two  in  a  sheltered  spot,  owing  to  the  more  southern 
latitude,  the  everlasting  northern  pine  met  the  trees 
of  other  climates.  Ther?  were  dwarf  oaks,  willows, 
hazel,  and  spruce ;  the  white  cedar  and  the  trailing 
juniper  jostled  each  other  for  a  precarious  foothold ; 
the  majestic  redword-tree  of  the  Pacific  met  the 
exquisite  balsam-pine  of  the  Atlantic  slopes,  and 
among  them  all  the  pale  gold  foliage  of  the  large  aspen 
trembled  (as  the  legend  goes)  in  endless  remorse. 
And  above  them  towered  the  toothy  peaks  of  the 
maintains,  rising  in  pure  white  against  the 


LETTEBX.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINa  185 

sunny  blue.  Grand!  glorious!  sublime!  bat  not 
lovable.  I  would  give  all  for  the  luxurious  redun- 
dance of  one  Hilo  gulch,  or  for  one  day  of  those  soft 
dreamy  "  skies  whose  very  tears  are  balm." 

Up  ever !  the  road  being  blasted  out  of  the  red 
rock  which  often  overhung  it,  the  canyon  only  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  feet  wide,  the  thunder  of  the  Foun- 
tain, which  is  crossed  eight  times,  nearly  deafening. 
Sometimes  the  sun  struck  the  road,  and  then  it  was 
absolutely  hot;  then  one  entered  unsunned  gorges 
where  the  snow  lay  deep,  and  the  crowded  pines  made 
dark  twilight,  and  the  river  roared  under  ice  bridges 
fringed  by  icicles.  At  last  the  Pass  opened  out  upon 
a  sunlit  upland  Park,  where  there  was  a  forge,  and 
with  Birdie's  shoe  put  on,  and  some  shoenails  in  my 
purse,  I  rode  on  cheerfully,  getting  food  for  us  both  at 
a  ranch  belonging  to  some  very  pleasant  people,  who, 
like  all  Western  folk,  when  they  are  not  taciturn, 
asked  a  legion  of  questions.  There  I  met  a  Colone? 
Kittridge,  who  said  that  he  believed  his  valley,  twelve 
miles  off  the  track,  to  be  the  loveliest  valley  in  Color- 
ado, and  invited  me  to  his  house.  Leaving  the  road 
I  went  up  a  long  ascent  deep  in  snow,  but  as  it  did 
not  seem  to  be  the  way,  I  tied  up  the  pony,  and  walked 
on  to  a  cabin  at  some  distance,  which  I  had  hardly 
reached  when  I  found  her  trotting  like  a  dog  by  my 
side,  pulling  my  sleeve  and  laying  her  soft  gray  nose 
on  my  shoulder.  Does  it  all  mean  sugar  ?  We  had 


186  A.  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  r. 

eight  miles  farther  to  go — most  of  the  way  through  a 
forest,  which  I  always  dislike  when  alone,  from  the 
fear  of  being  frightened  by  something  which  may 
appear  from  behind  a  tree.  I  saw  a  beautiful  white 
fox,  several  skunks,  some  chipmonks  and  gray  squir- 
rels, owls,  crows,  and  crested  blue-jays.  As  the  sun 
was  getting  low  I  reached  Bergens  Park,  which  was 
to  put  me  out  of  conceit  with  Estes  Park.  Never ! 
It  is  long  and  featureless,  and  its  immediate  surround- 
ings are  mean.  It  reminded  me  in  itself  of  some  dis- 
mal Highland  strath — Glenshee,  possibly.  I  looked 
at  it  with  special  interest,  as  it  was  the  place  at  which 
Miss  Kingsleyhad  suggested  that  I  might  remain.. 
The  evening  was  glorious,  and  the  distant  views  were 
very  fine.  A  stream  fringed  with  cotton-wood  runs 
through  the  Park;  low  ranges  come  down  upon  it. 
The  south  end  is  completely  closed  up,  but  at  a  con- 
siderable distance,  by  the  great  mass  of  Pike's  Peak, 
while  far  beyond  the  other  end  are  peaks  and  towers, 
wonderful  in  blue  and  violet  in  the  lovely  evening, 
and  beyond  these,  sharply  denned  against  the  clear 
green  sky,  was  the  serrated  ridge  of  the  Snowy  Eange, 
said  to  be  200  miles  away.  Bergens  Park  has  been 
bought  by  Dr.  Bell,  of  London,  but  its  present  occu- 
pant is  Mr.  Thornton,  an  English  gentleman,  who  has 
a  worthy  married  Englishman  as  his  manager.  Mr. 
Thornton  is  building  a  good  house,  and  purposes  to 
Duild  other  cabins,  with  the  intention  of  making  the* 


LErnsax.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  187 

Park  a  resort  for  strangers.  I  thought  of  the  blue 
hollow  lying  solitary  at  the  foot  of  Long's  Peak,  and 
rejoiced  that  I  had  "  happened  into  it." 

The  cabin  is  long,  low,  mud-roofed,  and  very  dark. 
The  middle  place  is  full  of  raw  meat,  fowls,  and  gear. 
One  end,  almost  dark,  contains  the  cooking-stove, 
milk,  crockery,  a  long  deal  table,  two  benches,  and 
some  wooden  stools ;  the  other  end  houses  the  English 
manager  or  partner,  his  wife,  and  three  children, 
another  cooking-stove,  gear  of  all  kinds,  and  sacks  of 
beans  and  flour.  They  put  up  a  sheet  for  a  partition, 
and  made  me  a  shake-down  on  the  gravel  floor  of 
this  room.  Ten  hired  men  sat  down  to  meals  with 
us.  It  was  all  very  rough,  dark,  and  comfortless,  but 
Mr.  T.,  who  is  not  only  a  gentleman  by  birth,  but  an 
M.A.  of  Cambridge,  seems  to  like  it.  Much  in  thia 
way  (a  little  smoother  if  a  lady  is  in  the  case)  every 
man  must  begin  life  here.  Seven  large  dogs — three 
of  them  with  cats  upon  their  backs  —  are  usually 
warming  themselves  at  the  fire. 

TWIN  ROCK,  SOUTH  FORK  OF  THE  PLATTE,  November  1. 
I  did  not  leave  Mr.  Thornton's  till  ten,  because 
of  the  slipperiness.     I  rode  four  miles  along  a  back 
trail,  and  then  was  so  tired  that  I  stayed  for  two  • 
hours  at  a  ranch,  where  I  heard,  to  my  dismay,  that 
I  must  ride  twenty-four  miles  farther  before  I  could 
Qiid  any  place  to  sleep  at.     I  did  not  enjoy  yester-- 


188  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  * 

day's  rile.  I  was  both  tired  and  rheumatic,  and 
Birdie  was  not  so  sprightly  as  usual.  After  starting 
again  I  came  on  a  hideous  place,  of  which  I  hal  not 
heard  before,  Hayden's  Divide,  one  of  the  great  back- 
bones of  the  region,  a  weary  expanse  of  deep  snow 
eleven  miles  across,  and  fearfully  lonely.  I  saw 
nothing  the  whole  way  but  a  mule  lately  dead  lying 
by  the  road.  I  was  very  nervous  somehow,  and 
towards  evening  believed  that  I  had  lost  the  road, 
for  I  carne  upon  wild  pine  forests,  with  huge  masses 
of  rock  from  100  to  700  feet  high,  cast  here  and 
there  among  them;  beyond  these  pine -sprinkled 
grass  hills;  these,  in  their  turn,  were  bounded  by 
interminable  ranges,  ghastly  in  the  lurid  evening, 
with  the  Spanish  Peaks  quite  clear,  and  the  colossal 
summit  of  Mount  Lincoln,  the  King  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  distinctly  visible,  though  seventy  miles 
away.  It  seemed  awful  to  be  alone  on  that  ghastly 
ridge,  surrounded  by  interminable  mountains,  in  the 
deep  snow,  knowing  that  a  party  of  thirty  had  been 
lost  here  a  month  ago.  Just  at  nightfall  the  descent 
of  a  steep  hill  took  me  out  of  the  forest  and  upon  a 
clean  log  cabin,  where,  finding  that  the  proper  halting- 
place  was  two  miles  farther  on,  I  remained.  A  truly 
pleasing,  superior -looking  woman  placed  me  in  a 
rocking-chair ;  would  not  let  me  help  her  otherwise 
than  by  rocking  the  cradle,  and  made  me  "  feel  at 
home."  Tho  room,  though  it  serves  them  and  theii 


C.I.ITI-.R  x.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  189 

two  children  for  kitchen,  parlour,  and  bedroom,  is 
the  pattern  of  brightness,  cleanliness,  and  comfort. 
At  supper  there  were  canned  raspberries,  rolls,  butter, 
tea,  venison,  and  fried  rabbit,  and  at  seven  I  went  to 
bed  in  a  carpeted  log  room,  with  a  thick  feather-bed 
on  a  mattress,  sheets,  ruffled  pillow  slips,  and  a  pile 
of  warm  white  blankets !  I  slept  for  eleven  hours. 
They  discourage  me  much  about  the  route  which 
Governor  Hunt  has  projected  for  me.  They  think 
that  it  is  impassable,  owing  to  snow,  and  that 
another  storm  is  brewing. 

HALLS  GULCH,  November  6. 

I  have  ridden  150  miles  since  I  wrote  last.  On 
leaving  Twin  Eock  on  Saturday  I  had  a  short  day's  ride 
to  Colonel  Kittridge's  cabin  at  Oil  Creek,  where  I 
spent  a  quiet  Sunday  with  agreeable  people.  The  ride 
was  all  through  parks  and  gorges,  and  among  pine- 
clothed  hills,  about  9000  feet  high,  with  Pike's  Peak 
always  in  sight.  I  have  developed  much  sagacity  in 
finding  a  trail,  or  I  should  not  be  able  to  make  use  of 
such  directions  as  these  :  "  Keep  along  a  gulch  four  or 
five  miles  till  you  get  Pike's  Peak  on  your  left,  then 
follow  some  wheel-marks  till  you  get  to  some  timber, 
and  keep  to  the  north  till  you  come  to  a  creek, 
where  you'll  find  a  great  many  elk  tracks ;  then  go 
to  your  right  and  cross  the  creek  three  times,  then 
you'll  see  a  red  rock  to  your  left,"  etc.  etc.  The  K.'s 


190  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  r, 

cabin  was  very  small  and  lonely,  and  the  life  seemed 
a  hard  grind  for  an  educated  and  refined  woman. 
There  were  snow  flumes  after  I  arrived,  but  the  first 
Sunday  of  November  was  as  bright  and  warm  as 
June,  and  the  atmosphere  had  resumed  its  exquisite 
purity.  Three  peaks  of  Pike's  Peak  are  seen  from 
Oil  Creek,  above  the  nearer  hills,  and  by  them  they 
tell  the  time.  We  had  been  in  the  evening  shadows- 
for  half  an  hour  before  those  peaks  ceased  to  be 
transparent  gold.  On  leaving  Colonel  Kittridge's 
hospitable  cabin  I  dismounted,  as  I  had  often  done- 
before,  to  lower  a  bar,  and,  on  looking  round,  Birdie 
was  gone !  I  spent  an  hour  in  trying  to  catch  her, 
but  she  had  taken  an  "  ugly  fit,"  and  would  not  let- 
me  go  near  her ;  and  I  was  getting  tired  and  vexed,, 
when  two  passing  trappers,  on  mules,  circumvented 
and  caught  her.  I  rode  the  twelve  miles  back  to- 
Twin  Eock,  and  then  went  on,  a  kindly  teamster, 
who  was  going  in  the  same  direction,  taking  my  pack. 
I  must  explain  that  every  mile  I  have  travelled  since 
leaving  Colorado  Springs  has  taken  me  farther  and 
higher  into  the  mountains.  That  afternoon  I  rode 
through  lawn-like  upland  parks,  with  the  great  snow 
mass  of  Pike's  Peak  behind,  and  in  front  mountains 
bathed  in  rich  atmospheric  colouring  of  blue  and 
violet,  all  very  fine,  but  threatening  to  become 
monotonous,  when  the  waggon  road  turned  abruptly 
to  the  left,  and  crossed  a  broad,  swift,  mountain 


USTTEKX.  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  191 

river,  the  head-waters  of  the  Platte.  There  I  found 
the  ranch  to  which  I  had  been  recommended,  the 
quarters  of  a  great  hunter  named  Link,  which  much 
resembled  a  good  country  inn.  There  was  a  pleasant 
friendly  woman,  but  the  men  were  all  away,  a  thing 
1  always  regret,  as  it  gives  me  half  an  hour's  work 
at  the  horse  before  I  can  write  to  you.  I  had  hardly 
come  in  when  a  very  pleasant  German  lady,  whom  1 
met  at  Manitou,  with  three  gentlemen,  arrived,  and 
we  were  as  sociable  as  people  could  be.  We  had  a 
splendid  though  rude  supper.  While  Mrs.  Link  was 
serving  us,  and  urging  her  good  things  upon  us,  she 
was  orating  on  the  greediness  of  English  people, 
saying  that  "  you  would  think  they  travelled  through 
the"  country  only  to  gratify  their  palates;"  and 
addressed  me,  asking  me  if  I  had  not  observed  it ! 
1  am  nearly  always  taken  for  a  Dane  or  a  Swede, 
never  for  an  Englishwoman,  so  I  often  hear  a  good 
deal  of  outspoken  criticism.  In  the  evening  Mr. 
Link  returned,  and  there  was  a  most  vehement 
discussion  between  him,  an  old  hunter,  a  miner,  and 
the  teamster  who  brought  my  pack,  as  to  the  route 
by  which  I  should  ride  through  the  mountains  for 
tho  next  three  or  four  days — because  at  that  point  I 
was  to  leave  the  waggon  road — and  it  was  renewed 
with  increased  violence  the  next  morning,  so  that  if 
my  nerves  had  not  been  of  steel  I  should  have  been 
appalled.  The  old  hunter  acrimoniously  said  he 


192  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  r. 

"  must  speak  the  truth,"  the  miner  was  directing  me 
aver  a  track  where  for  twenty-five  miles  there  was 
not  a  house,  and  where,  if  snow  came  on,  I  should 
never  be  heard  of  again.  The  miner  said  he  "  must 
speak  the  truth,"  the  hunter  was  directing  me  over  a 
pass  where  there  were  five  feet  of  snow,  and  no 
trail.  The  teamster  said  that  the  only  road  possible 
for  a  horse  was  so-and-so,  and  advised  me  to  take 
the  waggon  road  into  South  Park,  which  I  was 
determined  not  to  do.  Mr.  Link  said  he  was  the 
oldest  hunter  and  settler  in  the  district,  and  he  could 
not  cross  any  of  the  trails  in  snow.  And  so  they 
went  on.  At  last  they  partially  agreed  on  a  route — 
"  the  worst  road  in  the  Eocky  Mountains,"  the  old 
hunter  said,  with  two  feet  of  snow  upon  it,  but  a 
hunter  had  hauled  an  elk  over  part  of  it,  at  any  rate. 
The  upshot  of  the  whole  you  shall  have  in  my  next 
tatter. 


THE  BOCKY  MOUNTAINS. 


LETTER  XL 

Tarryall  Creek — The  Red  Range — Excelsior ! — Importunate  Pedlars 
—Snow  and  Heat— A  Bison  Calf— Deep  Drifts— South  Park 
—The  Great  Divide— Comanche  Bill— Difficulties— Hall's 
Gulch — A  Lord  Dundreary — Ridiculous  Fears. 

HALL'S  GULCH,  COLORADO,  November  6. 
IT  was  another  cloudless  morning,  one  of  the  many 
here  on  which  one  awakes  early,  refreshed,  and  ready 
to  enjoy  the  fatigues  of  another  day.  In  our  sunless, 
misty  climate  you  do  not  know  the  influence  which 
persister  t  fine  weather  exercises  on  the  spirits.  I  have 
been  ten  months  in  almost  perpetual  sunshine,  and 
now  a  single  cloudy  day  makes  me  feel  quite  de- 
pressed. I  did  not  leave  till  9.30,  because  of  the 
slipperiness,  and  shortly  after  starting  turned  off 
into  the  wilderness  on  a  very  dim  trail.  Soon  seeing 
a  man  riding  a  mile  ahead,  I  rode  on  and  overtook 
him,  and  we  rode  eight  miles  together,  which  was 
convenient  to  me,  as  without  him  I  should  several 
times  have  lost  the  trail  altogether.  Then  his  fine 
American  horse,  on  which  he  had  only  ridden  two 
days,  broke  down,  while  my  "  mad,  bad  broncho,"  on 
which  I  had  been  travelling  for  a  fortnight,  cantered 

o 


194  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LKTTKRXL 

lightly  over  the  snow.  He  was  the  only  traveller  I 
saw  in  a  day  o£  nearly  twelve  hours.  I  thoroughly 
enjoyed  every  minute  of  that  ride.  It  concentrated 
all  my  faculties  of  admiration  and  of  locality,  for 
truly  the  track  was  a  difficult  one.  I  sometimes 
thought  it  deserved  the  bad  name  given  to  it  at  Link's. 
For  the  most  part  it  keeps  in  sight  of  Tarryall  Creek, 
one  of  the  large  affluents  of  the  Platte,  and  is  walled 
in  on  both  sides  by  mountains,  which  are  sometimes 
so  close  together  as  to  leave  only  the  narrowest  canyon 
between  them,  at  others  breaking  wide  apart,  till, 
after  winding  and  climbing  up  and  down  for  twenty- 
five  miles,  it  lands  one  on  a  barren  rock-girdled  park, 
watered  by  a  rapid  fordable  stream  as  broad  as  the 
Ouse  at  Huntingdon,  snow-fed  and  ice-fringed,  the 
park  bordered  by  fantastic  rocky  hills,  snow- covered 
and  brightened  only  by  a  dwarf  growth  of  the  beau- 
tiful silver  spruce.  I  have  not  seen  anything  hitherto 
so  thoroughly  wild  and  unlike  the  rest  of  these  parts. 
I  rode  up  one  great  ascent  where  hills  were  tum- 
bled about  confusedly;  and  suddenly  across  the  broad 
ravine,  rising  above  the  sunny  grass  and  the  deep- 
green  pines,  rose  in  glowing  and  shaded  red  against 
the  glittering  blue  heaven  a  magnificent  and  unearthly 
range  of  mountains,  as  shapely  as  could  be  seen,  rising 
into  colossal  points,  cleft  by  deep  blue  ravines,  broken 
up  into  sharks'  teeth,  with  gigantic  knobs  and  pin- 
nacles rising  from  their  inaccessible  sides,  very  fair  to 


LETTER  xi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  195 

look  upon — a  glowing,  heavenly,  unforgetable  sight^ 
and  only  four  miles  off.  Mountains  they  looked  not 
of  this  earth,  but  such  as  one  sees  in  dreams  alone, 
the  blessed  ranges  of  "  the  land  which  is  very  far  off" 
They  were  more  brilliant  than  those  incredible  colours 
in  which  painters  array  the  fiery  hills  of  Moab  and 
the  Desert  and  one  could  not  believe  them  for  ever 
uninhabited,  for  on  them  rose,  as  in  the  East,  the  si- 
militude of  stately  fortresses,  not  the  gray  castellated 
towers  of  feudal  Europe,  but  gay,  massive,  Saracenic 
architecture,  the  outgrowth  of  the  solid  rock.  They 
were  vast  ranges,  apparently  of  enormous  height,  their 
colour  indescribable,  deepest  and  reddest  near  the 
pine-draped  bases,  then  gradually  softening  into  won- 
derful tenderness,  till  the  highest  summits  rose  all 
flushed,  and  with  an  illusion  of  transparency,  so  that 
one  might  believe  that  they  were  taking  on  the  hue 
of  sunset.  Below  them  lay  broken  ravines  of  fantastic 
rocks,  cleft  and  canyoned  by  the  river,  with  a  tender 
unearthly  light  over  all,  the  apparent  warmth  of  a 
glowing  clime,  while  I  on  the  north  side  was  in  the 
shexlow  among  the  pure  unsullied  snow. 

"  With  us  the  damp,  the  chill,  the  gloom  ; 
With  them  the  sunset's  rosy  bloom." 

The  dimness  of  earth  with  me,  the  light  of  heaven 
with  them.  Here,  again,  worship  seemed  the  only 
attitude  for  a  human  spirit,  and  the  question  was  ever 
present,  "  Lord,  what  is  man,  that  Thou  art  mindful 


196  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XL 

of  him;  or  the  son  of  man,  that  Thou  visitest  him  ?* 
I  rode  up  and  down  hills  laboriously  in  snow-drifts, 
getting  off  often  to  ease  my  faithful  Birdie  by  walking 
down  ice-clad  slopes,  stopping  constantly  to  feast  my 
eyes  upon  that  changeless  glory,  always  seeing  some 
new  ravine,  with  its  depths  of  colour  or  miraculous 
brilliancy  of  red,  or  phantasy  of  form.  Then  below, 
where  the  trail  was  locked  into  a  deep  canyon  where 
there  was  scarcely  room  for  it  and  the  river,  there  was 
a  beauty  of  another  kind  in  solemn  gloom.  There 
the  stream  curved  and  twisted  marvellously,  widening 
into  shallows,  narrowing  into  deep  boiling  eddies,  with 
pyramidal  firs  and  the  beautiful  silver  spruce  fringing 
its  banks,  and  often  falling  across  it  in  artistic  grace, 
the  gloom  chill  and  deep,  with  only  now  and  then  a 
light  trickling  through  the  pines  upon  the  cold  snow, 
when  suddenly  turning  round  I  saw  behind,  as  if  in 
the  glory  of  an  eternal  sunset,  those  flaming  and  fan- 
tastic peaks.  The  effect  of  the  combination  of  winter 
and  summer  was  singular.  The  trail  ran  on  the  north 
side  the  whole  time,  and  the  snow  lay  deep  and  pure 
white,  while  not  a  wreath  of  it  lay  on  the  south  side,, 
where  abundant  lawns  basked  in  the  warm  sun. 

The  pitch  pine,  with  its  monotonous  and  some- 
what rigid  form,  had  disappeared ;  the  white  pine  be- 
came scarce,  both  being  displaced  by  the  slim  spirea 
and  silvery  green  of  the  miniature  silver  spruce. 
Valley  and  canyon  were  passed,  the  flaming  ranges 


LETTKU  xi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  197 

were  left  behind,  the  upper  altitudes  became  grim 
and  mysterious.  I  crossed  a  lake  on  the  ice,  and  then 
came  on  a  park  surrounded  by  barren  contorted  hills, 
overtopped  by  snow  mountains.  There,  in  some 
brushwood,  we  crossed  a  deepish  stream  on  the  ice, 
which  gave  way,  and  the  fearful  cold  of  the  water 
stiffened  my  limbs  for  the  rest  of  the  ride.  All  these 
streams  become  bigger  as  you  draw  nearer  to  their 
source,  and  shortly  the  trail  disappeared  in  a  broad 
rapid  river,  which  we  forded  twice.  The  trail  was 
very  difficult  to  recover.  It  ascended  ever  in  frost 
and  snow,  amidst  scanty  timber  dwarfed  by  cold  and 
twisted  by  storms,  amidst  solitudes  such  as  one  reads 
of  in  the  High  Alps ;  there  were  no  sounds  to  be 
heard  but  the  crackle  of  ice  and  snow,  the  pitiful 
howling  of  wolves,  and  the  hoot  of  owls.  The  sun  to 
me  had  long  set ;  the  peaks  which  had  blushed  were 
pale  and  sad ;  the  twilight  deepened  into  green  ;  but 
still  "  Excelsior  !"  There  were  no  happy  homes  with 
light  of  household  fires;  above,  the  spectral  moun- 
tains lifted  their  cold  summits.  As  darkness  came 
on  I  began  to  fear  that  I  had  confused  the  cabin  to 
which  I  had  been  directed  with  the  rocks.  To  confess 
the  truth,  I  was  cold,  for  my  boots  and  stockings  had 
frozen  on  my  feet,  and  I  was  hungry  too,  having  eaten 
nothing  but  raisins  for  fourteen  hours.  After  riding 
30  miles  I  saw  a  light  a  little  way  from  the  track, 
and  found  it  to  be  the  cabin  of  the  daughter  of  the 


198  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEITER  xi 

pleasant  people  with  whom  I  had  spent  the  previous 
night.  Her  husband  had  gone  to  the  plains,  yet  she, 
with  two  infant  children,  was  living  there  in  perfect 
security.  Two  pedlars,  who  were  peddling  their  way 
down  from  the  mines,  came  in  for  a  night's  shelter 
soon  after  I  arrived  —  ill-looking  fellows  enough. 
They  admired  Birdie  in  a  suspicious  fashion,  and 
offered  to  "  swop  "  their  pack-horse  for  her.  I  went 
out  the  last  thing  at  night  and  the  first  thing  in  the 
morning  to  see  that  "  the  powny "  was  safe,  for  they 
were  very  importunate  on  the  subject  of  the  "  swop." 
I  had  before  been  offered  150  dollars  for  her.  I  was 
obliged  to  sleep  with  the  mother  and  children,  and 
the  pedlars  occupied  a  room  within  ours.  It  was  hot 
and  airless.  The  cabin  was  papered  with  the  Phreno- 
logical Journal,  and  in  the  morning  I  opened  my  eyes 
on  the  very  best  portrait  of  Dr.  Candlish  I  ever  saw, 
and  grieved  truly  that  I  should  never  see  that  mass- 
ive brow  and  fantastic  face  again. 

Mrs.  Link  was  an  educated  and  very  intelligent 
young  woman.  The  pedlars  were  Irish  Yankees,  and 
the  way  in  which  they  "  traded  "  was  as  amusing  as 
"  Sam  Slick."  They  not  only  wanted  to  "  swop  "  my 
pony,  but  to  "  trade "  my  watch.  They  trade  their 
souls,  I  know.  They  displayed  their  wares  for  an 
hour  with  much  dexterous  flattery  and  persuasive- 
ness, but  Mrs.  Link  was  untemptable,  and  I  was  only 
tempted  into  buying  a  handkerchief  to  keep  the  sun 


LETTEK  xi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  199 

off.  There  was  another  dispute  about  my  route.  It 
was  the  most  critical  day  of  my  journey.  If  a  snow- 
storm came  on,  I  might  be  detained  in  the  mountains 
for  many  weeks ;  but  if  I  got  through  the  snow  and 
reached  the  Denver  waggon-road,  no  detention  would 
signify  much.  The  pedlars  insisted  that  I  could  not 
get  through,  for  the  road  was  not  broken.  Mrs.  L. 
thought  I  could,  and  advised  me  to  try,  so  I  saddled 
Birdie  and  rode  away. 

More  than  half  of  the  day  was  far  from  enjoyable. 
The  morning  was  magnificent,  but  the  light  too  daz- 
zling, the  sun  too  fierce.  As  soon  as  I  got  out  I  felt 
as  if  I  should  drop  off  the  horse.  My  large  handker- 
chief kept  the  sun  from  my  neck,  but  the  fierce  heat 
caused  soul  and  sense,  brain  and  eye,  to  reel  I 
never  saw  or  felt  the  like  of  it.  I  was  at  a  height  of 
12,000  feet,  where,  of  course,  the  air  was  highly  rare- 
fied, and  the  snow  was  so  pure  and  dazzling  that  I 
was  obliged  to  keep  my  eyes  shut  as  much  as  possible 
to  avoid  snow  blindness.  The  sky  was  a  different 
and  terribly  fierce  colour;  and  when  I  caught  a 
glimpse  of  the  sun,  he  was  white  and  unwinking  like 
a  lime-ball  light,  yet  threw  off  wicked  scintillations. 
I  suffered  so  from  nausea,  exhaustion,  and  pains  from 
head  to  foot,  that  I  felt  as  if  I  must  lie  down  in  the 
snow.  It  may  have  been  partly  the  early  stage  of 
soroche,  or  mountain  sickness.  We  plodded  on  for 
four  hours,  snow  all  round,  and  nothing  else  to  be 


200  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xi 

seen  but  an  ocean  of  glistening  peaks  against  that 
sky  of  infuriated  blue.  How  I  found  my  way  I  shall 
never  know,  for  the  only  marks  on  the  snow  were 
occasional  footprints  of  a  man,  and  I  had  no  means 
of  knowing  whether  they  led  in  the  direction  I  ought 
to  take.  Earlier,  before  the  snow  became  so  deep, 
I  passed  the  last  great  haunt  of  the  magnificent 
mountain  bison,  but,  unfortunately,  saw  nothing  but 
horns  and  bones.  Two  months  ago  Mr.  Link  suc- 
ceeded in  separating  a  cal£  from  the  herd,  and  has 
partially  domesticated  it.  It  is  a  very  ugly  thing  at 
seven  months  old,  with  a  thick  beard,  and  a  short, 
thick,  dark  mane  on  its  heavy  shoulders.  It  makes  a 
loud  grunt  like  a  pig.  It  can  outrun  their  fastest 
horse,  and  it  sometimes  leaps  over  the  high  fence  of 
the  corral,  and  takes  all  the  milk  of  five  cows. 

The  snow  grew  seriously  deep.  Birdie  fell 
thirty  times,  I  am  sure.  She  seemed  unable  to  keep 
up  at  all,  so  I  was  obliged  to  get  off  and  stumble 
along  in  her  footmarks.  By  that  time  my  spirit  for 
overcoming  difficulties  had  somewhat  returned,  for  1 
saw  a  lie  of  country  which  I  knew  must  contain 
South  Park,  and  we  had  got  under  cover  of  a  hill 
which  kept  off  the  sun.  The  trail  had  ceased ;  it  was 
only  one  of  those  hunter's  tracks  which  continually 
mislead  one.  The  getting  through  the  snow  was 
awful  work.  I  think  we  accomplished  a  mile  in 
something  over  two  hours.  The  snow  was  two  feet 


LETTER  xi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  201 

eight  inches  deep,  and  once  we  went  down  in  a  drift 
the  surface  of  which  was  rippled  like  sea  sand, 
Birdie  up  to  her  back,  and  I  up  to  my  shoulders  1 
At  last  we  got  through,  and  I  beheld,  with  some  sad- 
ness, the  goal  of  my  journey,  "The  Great  Divide/' 
the  snowy  range,  and  between  me  and  it  South  Park, 
a  rolling  prairie  seventy-five  miles  long  and  over 
10,000  feet  high,  treeless,  bounded  by  mountains, 
and  so  rich  in  sun-cured  hay  that  one  might  fancy 
that  all  the  herds  of  Colorado  could  find  pasture  there, 
Its  chief  centre  is  the  rough  mining  town  of  Fairplay, 
but  there  are  rumours  of  great  mineral  wealth  in 
\  arious  quarters.  The  region  has  been  "  rushed," 
and  mining  camps  have  risen  at  Alma  and  elsewhere, 
so  lawless  and  brutal  that  vigilance  committees  are 
forming  as  a  matter  of  necessity.  South  Park  is 
closed,  or  nearly  so,  by  snow  during  an  ordinary 
winter ;  and  just  now  the  great  freight  waggons  are 
carrying  up  the  last  supplies  of  the  season,  and  taking 
down  women  and  other  temporary  inhabitants.  A 
great  many  people  come  up  here  in  the  summer.  The 
rarefied  air  produces  great  oppression  on  the  lungs, 
accompanied  with  bleeding.  It  is  said  that  you  can 
tell  a  new  arrival  by  seeing  him  go  about  holding  a 
blood-stained  handkerchief  to  his  mouth.  But  I 
came  down  upon  it  from  regions  of  ice  and  snow ; 
and  as  the  snow  which  had  fallen  on  it  had  all  dis- 
appeared by  evaporation  «"d  drifting,  it  looked  to 


202  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XL 

me  quite  lowland  and  livable,  though  lonely  and  inde- 
scribably mournful,  "  a  silent  sea,"  suggestive  of  "  the 
muffled  oar."  I  cantered  across  the  narrow  end  of 
it,  delighted  to  have  got  through  the  snow ;  and  when 
I  struck  the  "Denver  stage-road"  I  supposed  that 
all  the  difficulties  of  mountain  travel  were  at  an  end, 
but  this  has  not  turned  out  to  be  exactly  the  case. 

A  horseman  shortly  joined  me  and  rode  with  me. 
got  me  a  fresh  horse,  and  accompanied  me  for  ten 
miles.  He  was  a  picturesque  figure  and  rode  a  very 
good  horse.  He  wore  a  big  slouch  hat,  from  under 
which  a  number  of  fair  curls  hung  nearly  to  his 
tvaist.  His  beard  was  fair,  his  eyes  blue,  and  his 
complexion  ruddy.  There  was  nothing  sinister  in 
his  expression,  and  his  manner  was  respectful  and 
frank.  He  was  dressed  in  a  hunter's  buckskin  suit 
ornamented  with  beads,  and  wore  a  pair  of  exception- 
ally big  brass  spurs.  His  saddle  was  very  highly 
ornamented.  What  was  unusual  was  the  number  of 
weapons  he  carried.  Besides  a  rifle  laid  across  his 
saddle  and  a  paii  of  pistols  in  the  holsters,  he  carried 
two  revolvers  and  a  knife  in  his  belt,  and  a  carbine 
slung  behind  him.  I  found  him  what  is  termed 
"good  company."  He  told  me  a  great  deal  about 
the  country  and  its  wild  animals,  with  some  hunting 
adventures,  and  a  great  deal  about  Indians  and  their 
cruelty  and  treachery.  All  this  time,  having  crossed 
South  Park,  we  were  ascending  the  Continental 


LETTKit  xi.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  203 

Divide  by  what  I  think  is  termed  the  Breckenridge 
Pass,  on  a  fairly  good  waggon-road.  We  stopped  at 
a  cabin,  where  the  woman  seemed  to  know  my  com- 
panion, and,  in  addition  to  bread  and  milk,  produced 
some  venison  steaks.  We  rode  on  again,  and  reached 
the  crest  of  the  Divide  (see  engraving),  and  saw  snow- 
born  streams  starting  within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from 
each  other,  one  for  the  Colorado  and  the  Pacific,  the 
other  for  the  Platte  and  the  Atlantic.  Here  I  wished 
the  hunter  good-bye,  and  reluctantly  turned  north- 
east. It  was  not  wise  to  go  up  the  Divide  at  all,  and 
it  was  necessary  to  do  it  in  haste.  On  my  way  down 
I  spoke  to  the  woman  at  whose  cabin  I  had  dined, 
and  she  said,  "  I  am  sure  you  found  Comanche  Bill  a 
real  gentleman ; "  and  I  then  knew  that,  if  she  gave 
me  correct  information,  my  intelligent,  courteous 
companion  was  one  of  the  most  notorious  desperadoes 
of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  the  greatest  Indian  ex- 
terminator on  the  frontier — a  man  whose  father  and 
family  fell  in  a  massacre  at  Spirit  Lake  by  the  hands 
of  Indians,  who  carried  away  his  sister,  then  a  child 
of  eleven.  His  life  has  since  been  mainly  devoted 
to  a  search  for  this  child,  and  to  killing  Indians 
wherever  he  can  find  them. 

After  riding  twenty  miles,  which  made  the  dis- 
tance for  that  day  fifty,  I  remounted  Birdie  to  ride 
six  miles  farther,  to  a  house  which  had  been  men- 
tioned to  me  as  a  stopping-place.  The  road  ascended 


204  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xi. 

to  a  height  of  11,000  feet,  and  from  thence  I  looked 
my  last  at  the  lonely,  uplifted  prairie  sea.  "  Denver 
stage-road  ! "  The  worst,  rudest,  dismallest,  darkest 
road  I  have  yet  travelled  on,  nothing  but  a  winding 
ravine,  the  Platte  canyon,  pine-crowded  and  pine* 
darkened,  walled  in  on  both  sides  for  six  miles  by 
pine-skirted  mountains  12,000  feet  high !  Along 
this  abyss  for  forty  miles  there  are  said  to  be  only 
five  houses,  and  were  it  not  for  miners  going  down, 
and  freight- waggons  going  up,  the  solitude  would  be 
awful.  As  it  was,  I  did  not  see  a  creature.  It  was 
four  when  I  left  South  Park,  and  between  those 
mountain  walls  and  under  the  pines  it  soon  became 
quite  dark,  a  darkness  which  could  be  felt.  The 
snow  which  had  melted  in  the  sun  had  refrozen,  and 
was  one  sheet  of  smooth  ice.  Birdie  slipped  so 
alarmingly  that  I  got  off  and  walked,  but  then 
neither  of  us  could  keep  our  feet,  and  in  the  dark- 
ness she  seemed  so  likely  to  fall  upon  me,  that  I  took 
out  of  my  pack  the  man's  socks  which  had  been 
given  me  at  Perry's  Park,  and  drew  them  on  over  her 
fore  feet — an  expedient  which  for  a  time  succeeded 
admirably,  and  which  I  commend  to  all  travellers 
similarly  circumstanced.  It  was  unutterably  dark, 
and  all  these  operations  had  to  be  performed  by  the 
sense  of  touch  only.  I  remounted,  allowed  her  to 
take  her  own  way,  as  I  could  not  see  even  her  ears, 
and  though  her  hind  legs  slipped  badly,  we  contrived 


LITTER  xr.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  205 

to  get  along  through  the  narrowest  part  of  the  canyon, 
with  a  tumbling  river  close  to  the  road.  The  pines 
were  very  dense,  and  sighed"  and  creaked  mournfully 
in  the  severe  frost,  and  there  were  other  eerie  noises 
not  easy  to  explain.  At  last,  when  the  socks  were 
nearly  worn  out,  I  saw  the  blaze  of  a  camp  fire,  with 
two  hunters  sitting  by  it,  on  the  hill-side,  and  at  the 
mouth  of  a  gulch  something  which  looked  like  build- 
ings. "We  got  across  the  river  partly  on  ice  and 
partly  by  fording,  and  I  found  that  this  was  the 
place  where,  in  spite  of  its  somewhat  dubious  reputa- 
tion, I  had  been  told  that  I  could  put  up.  A  man 
came  out  in  the  sapient  and  good-natured  stage  of 
intoxication,  and,  the  door  being  opened,  I  was  con- 
fronted by  a  rough  bar  and  a  smoking,  blazing 
kerosene  lamp  without  a  chimney.  This  is  the 
worst  place  I  have  put  up  at  as  to  food,  lodging,  and 
general  character;  an  old  and  very  dirty  log-cabin, 
not  chinked,  with  one  dingy  room  used  for  cooking 
and  feeding,  in  which  a  miner  was  lying  very  ill  of 
fever ;  then  a  large  roofless  shed  with  a  canvas  side, 
which  is  to  be  an  addition,  and  then  the  bar.  They 
accounted  for  the  disorder  by  the  building  operations. 
They  asked  me  if  I  were  the  English  lady  written  of 
in  the  Denver  News,  and  for  once  I  was  glad  that  my 
fame  had  preceded  me,  as  it  seemed  to  secure  me 
against  being  quietly  "  put  out '  of  the  way."  A 
horrible  meal  was  served — dirty,  greasy,  disgusting. 


206  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  «. 

A  celebrated  hunter,  Bob  Craik,  came  in  to  supper  with 
a  young  man  in  tow,  whom,  in  spite  of  his  rough 
hunter's  or  miner's  dress,»I  at  once  recognised  as  an 
English  gentleman.  It  was  their  camp-fire  which  I 
had  seen  on  the  hill-side.  This  gentleman  was  lord- 
ing it  in  true  caricature  fashion,  with  a  Lord  Dun- 
dreary drawl  and  a  general  execration  of  everything ; 
while  I  sat  in  the  chimney  corner,  speculating  on  the 
reason  why  many  of  the  upper  class  of  my  countrymen 
— "  High  Toners,"  as  they  are  called  out  here — make 
themselves  so  ludicrously  absurd.  They  neither 
know  how  to  hold  their  tongues  or  to  carry  their 
personal  pretensions.  An  American  is  nationally 
assumptive,  an  Englishman  personally  so.  He  took 
no  notice  of  me  till  something  passed  which  showed 
,him  I  was  English,  when  his  manner  at  once  changed 
into  courtesy,  and  his  drawl  was  shortened  by  a  half. 
He  took  pains  to  let  me  know  that  he  was  an  officer 
in  the  Guards,  of  good  family,  on  four  months'  leave, 
which  he  was  spending  in  slaying  buffalo  and  elk, 
and  also  that  he  had  a  profound  contempt  for  every- 
thing American.  I  cannot  think  why  Englishmen 
put  on  these  broad,  mouthing  tones,  and  give  so  many 
personal  details.  They  retired  to  their  camp,  and 
the  landlord  having  passed  into  the  sodden,  sleepy 
stage  of  drunkenness,  his  wife  asked  if  I  should  be 
afraid  to  sleep  in  the  large  canvas-sided,  unceiled, 
doorless  shed,  as  they  could  not  move  the  sick  miner, 


IKTTKRXI.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  207 

So  I  slept  there  on  a  shake-down,  with  the  stars 
winking  overhead  through  the  roof,  and  the  mercury 
showing  30°  of  frost.  I  never  told  you  that  I  once 
gave  an  unwary  promise  that  I  would  not  travel 
alone  in  Colorado  unarmed,  and  that  in  consequence 
I  left  Estes  Park  with  a  Sharp's  revolver  loaded  with 
ball-cartridge  in  my  pocket,  which  has  been  the 
plague  of  my  life.  Its  bright  ominous  barrel  peeped 
out  in  quiet  Denver  shops,  children  pulled  it  out  tc 
play  with,  or  when  my  riding-dress  hung  up  with  it 
in  the  pocket,  pulled  the  whole  from  the  peg  to  the 
floor ;  and  I  cannot  conceive  of  any  circumstances  in 
which  I  could  feel  it  right  to  make  any  use  of  it,  or 
in  which  it  could  do  me  any  possible  good.  Last 
night,  however,  I  took  it  out,  cleaned  and  oiled  it, 
and  laid  it  under  my  pillow,  resolving  to  keep  awake 
all  night.  I  slept  as  soon  as  I  lay  down,  and  never 
woke  till  the  bright  morning  sun  shone  through  the 
roof,  making  me  ridicule  my  own  fears  and  abjure 
pistols  for  ever  1 


A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN 


LETTEE  XH. 

Deer  Valley — Lynch  Law  —  Vigilance  Committees — The  Silver 
Spruce — Taste  and  Abstinence — The  Whisky  Fiend — Smart- 
ness— Turkey  Creek  Canyon — The  Indian  Problem — Public 
Eascality— Friendly  Meetings— The  Way  to  the  Golden  City— 
A  rising  Settlement — Clear  Creek  Canyon — Staging— Swearing 
— A  Mountain  Town. 

DEER  VALLEY,  November. 

TO-NIGHT  I  am  in  a  beautiful  place  like  a  Dutch  farm 
— large,  warm,  bright,  clean,  with  abundance  of  clean 
food,  and  a  clean,  cold  little  bedroom  to  myself.  But  it 
is  very  hard  to  write,  for  two  free-tongued,  noisy  Irish- 
women, who  keep  a  miners'  boarding-house  in  South 
Park,  and  are  going  to  winter  quarters  in  a  freight- 
waggon,  are  telling  the  most  fearful  stories  of  violence, 
vigilance  committees,  Lynch  law,  and  "  stringing,"  that 
I  ever  heard.  It  turns  one's  blood  cold  only  to  think 
that  where  I  travel  in  perfect  security,  only  a  short 
time  ago  men  were  being  shot  like  skunks.  At  the 
mining  towns  up  above  this  nobody  is  thought  any- 
thing of  who  has  not  killed  a  man — i.e.  in  a  certain 
set.  These  women  had  a  boarder,  only  fifteen,  who 
thought  he  could  not  be  anything  till  he  had  shot 
somebody,  and  they  gave  an  absurd  account  of  the 


LETTEBXII.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

lad  dodging  about  with  a  revolver,  and  not  getting  up 
courage  enough  to  insult  any  one,  till  at  last  he  hid 
himself  in  the  stable  and  shot  the  first  Chinaman 
who  entered.  Things  up  there  are  just  in  that  initial 
state  which  desperadoes  love.  A  man  accidentally 
shoves  another  in  a  saloon,  or  says  a  rough  word  at 
meals,  and  the  challenge,  "  first  finger  on  the  trigger," 
warrants  either  in  shooting  the  other  at  any  subse- 
quent time  without  the  formality  of  a  duel.  Nearly 
all  the  shooting  affrays  arise  from  the  most  trivial 
causes  in  saloons  and  bar-rooms.  The  deeper  quarrels, 
arising  from  jealousy  or  revenge,  are  few,  and  are 
usually  about  some  woman  not  worth  fighting  for. 
At  Alma  and  Fairplay  vigilance  committees  have 
been  lately  formed,  and  when  men  act  outrageously 
and  make  themselves  generally  obnoxious  they  receive 
a  letter  with  a  drawing  of  a  tree,  a  man  hanging  from 
it,  and  a  coffin  below,  on  which  is  written  "  Fore- 
warned." They  "  git "  in  a  few  hours.  When  I  said 
I  spent  last  night  at  Hall's  Gulch  there  was  quite  a 
chorus  of  exclamations.  My  host  there,  they  all  said, 
would  be  "  strung  "  before  long.  Did  I  know  that  a 
man  was  "  strung  "  there  yesterday  ?  Had  I  not  seen 
him  hanging  ?  He  was  on  the  big  tree  by  the  house, 
they  said.  Certainly,  had  I  known  what  a  ghastly 
burden  that  tree  bore,  I  would  have  encountered  the 
ice  and  gloom  of  the  gulch  rather  than  have  slept 
there.  They  then  told  me  a  horrid  tale  of  crime  and' 


210  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xit 

violence.  This  man  had  even  shocked  the  morals  of 
the  Alma  crowd,  and  had  a  notice  served  on  him  by 
the  vigilants,  which  had  the  desired  effect,  and  he 
migrated  to  Hall's  Gulch.  As  the  tale  runs,  the 
Hall's  Gulch  miners  were  resolved  either  not  to  have 
a  groggery  or  to  limit  the  number  of  such  places,  and 
when  this  ruffian  set  one  up  he  was  "  forewarned." 
It  seems,  however,  to  have  been  merely  a  pretext  for 
getting  rid  of  him,  for  it  was  hardly  a  crime  of  which 
even  Lynch  law  could  take  cognisance.  He  was 
overpowered  by  numbers,  and,  with  circumstances  of 
great  horror,  was  tried  and  strung  on  that  tree  within 
an  hour.1 

I  left  the  place  this  morning  at  ten,  and  have  had 
a  very  pleasant  day,  for  the  hills  shut  out  the  hot 
sun.  I  only  rode  twenty-two  miles,  for  the  difficulty 
of  riding  on  ice  was  great,  and  there  is  no  blacksmith 
within  thirty-five  miles  of  Hall's  Gulch.  I  met  two 
freighters  just  after  I  left,  who  gave  me  the  unwelcome 
news  that  there  were  thirty  miles  of  ice  between  that 
and  Denver.  "  You'll  have  a  tough  trip,"  they  said. 
The  road  runs  up  and  down  hill,  walled  in  along  with 
a  rushing  river  by  high  mountains.  The  scenery  'ia 
very  grand,  but  I  hate  being  shut  into  these  deep 
gorges,  and  always  expect  to  see  some  startling  object 
moving  among  the  trees.  I  met  no  one  the  whole 

1  Public  opinion  approved  this  execution,  regarding  it  aa  • 
fitting  retribution  for  a  series  of  crimes. 


LETTKHXII.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  211 

day  after  passing  the  teams  except  two  men  with  a 
"  pack-jack."  Birdie  hates  jacks,  and  rears  and  shies 
as  soon  as  she  sees  one.  It  was  a  bad  road,  one 
shelving  sheet  of  ice,  and  awfully  lonely,  and  between 
the  peril  of  the  mare  breaking  her  leg  on  the  ice  and 
that  of  being  crushed  by  windfalls  of  timber,  I  had  to 
look  out  all  day.  Towards  sunset  I  came  to  a  cabin 
where  they  "  keep  travellers,"  but  the  woman  looked 
so  vinegar-faced  that  I  preferred  to  ride  four  miles 
farther,  up  a  beautiful  road  winding  along  a  sunny 
gulch  filled  with  silver  spruce,  bluer  and  more  silvery 
than  any  I  have  yet  seen,  and  then  crossed  a  divide, 
from  which  the  view  in  all  the  ecstasy  of  sunset 
colour  was  perfectly  glorious.  It  was  enjoyment  also 
in  itself  to  get  out  of  the  deep  chasm  in  which  I  had 
been  immured  all  day.  There  is  a  train  of  twelve 
freight-waggons  here,  each  waggon  with  six  horses, 
but  the  teamsters  carry  their  own  camping  blankets 
and  sleep  either  in  their  waggons  or  on  the  floor,  so 
the  house  is  not  crowded.  It  is  a  pleasant  two-storey 
log-house,  not  only  chinked  but  lined  with  planed 
timber.  Each  room  has  a  great  open  chimney  with 
logs  burning  in  it ;  there  are  pretty  engravings  on  the 
walls,  and  baskets  full  of  creepers  hanging  from  the 
ceiling.  This  is  the  first  settler's  house  I  have  been 
in  in  which  the  ornamental  has  had  any  place. 
There  is  a  door  to  each  room,  the  oak  chairs  are 
bright  with  rubbing,  and  the  floor,  though  unplaned 


212  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XIL 

is  so  clean  that  one  might  eat  off  it.  The  table  is 
clean  and  abundant,  and  the  mother  and  daughters, 
though  they  do  all  the  work,  look  as  trim  as  if  they 
did  none,  and  actually  laugh  heartily.  The  ranch- 
man neither  allows  drink  to  be  brought  into  the  house 
nor  to  be  drunk  outside,  and  on  this  condition  only 
he  "  keeps  travellers."  The  freighters  come  in  to 
supper  quite  well  washed,  and  though  twelve  of  them 
slept  in  the  kitchen,  by  nine  o'clock  there  was  not  a 
sound.  This  freighting  business  is  most  profitable. 
I  think  that  the  charge  is  three  cents  per  pound  from 
Denver  to  South  Park,  and  there  much  of  the  freight 
is  transferred  to  "  pack-jacks  "  and  carried  up  to  the 
mines.  A  railroad,  however,  is  contemplated.  I 
breakfasted  with  the  family  after  the  freight  train 
left,  and  instead  of  sitting  down  to  gobble  up  the 
remains  of  a  meal,  they  had  a  fresh  tablecloth  and 
hot  food.  The  buckets  are  all  polished  oak,  with 
polished  brass  bands  ;  the  kitchen  utensils  are  bright 
as  rubbing  can  make  them ;  and,  more  wonderful  still, 
the  girls  black  their  boots.  Blacking  usually  is  an 
unused  luxury,  and  frequently  is  not  kept  in  houses. 
My  boots  have  only  been  blacked  once  during  the 

last  two  months 

DENVER,  November  9. 

I  could  not  make  out  whether  the  superiority  of  the 
Deer  Valley  settlers  extended  beyond  material  things, 
but  a  teamster  I  met  in  the  evening  said  it  "  made  him 


LBTI-EK  xn.  THE  KOCKV  MOUNTAINS.  213 

more  of  a  man  to  spend  a  night  in  such  a  house."  In 
Colorado  whisky  is  significant  of  all  evil  and  violence 
and  is  the  cause  of  most  of  the  shooting  affrays  in  the 
mining  camps.  There  are  few  moderate  drinkers ;  it 
is  seldom  taken  except  to  excess.  The  great  local 
question  in  the  Territory,  and  just  now  the  great 
electoral  issue,  is  drink  or  no  drink,  and  some  of  the 
papers  are  openly  advocating  a  prohibitive  liquor  law. 
Some  of  the  districts,  such  as  Greeley,  in  which  liquor 
is  prohibited,  are  without  crime,  and  in  several  of  the 
stock-raising  and  agricultural  regions  through  which 
I  have  travelled  where  it  is  practically  excluded  the 
doors  are  never  locked,  and  the  miners  leave  their 
silver  bricks  in  their  waggons  unprotected  at  night 
People  say  that  on  coming  from  the  Eastern  States 
they  hardly  realise  at  first  the  security  in  which  they 
live.  There  is  no  danger  and  no  fear.  But  the  truth 
of  the  proverbial  saying,  "  There  is  no  God  west  of  the 
Missouri,"  is  everywhere  manifest.  The  ""  almighty 
dollar  "  is  the  true  divinity,  and  its  worship  is  uni- 
versal. "  Smartness  "  is  the  quality  thought  most  o£ 
The  boy  who  "  gets  on  "  by  cheating  at  his  lessons  is 
praised  for  being  a  "  smart  boy,"  and  his  satisfied 
parents  foretell  that  he  will  make  a  "  smart  man."  A 
man  who  overreaches  his  neighbour,  but  who  does  it 
so  cleverly  that  the  law  cannot  take  hold  of  him,  wins 
an  envied  reputation  as  a  "  smart  man,"  and  stories  01 
this  species  of  smartness  are  told  admiringly  round 


214  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEH  xn 

every  stove.  Smartness  is  but  the  initial  stage  of 
swindling,  and  the  clever  swindler  who  evades  or 
defies  the  weak  and  often  corruptly  administered  laws 
of  the  States  excites  unmeasured  admiration  among 
the  masses.1 

I  left  Deer  Valley  at  ten  the  next  morning  on  a 
glorious  day,  with  rich  atmospheric  colouring,  had  to 
spend  three  hours  sitting  on  a  barrel  in  a  forge  after 
I  had  ridden  twelve  miles,  waiting  while  twenty-four 
oxen  were  shod,  and  then  rode  on  twenty-three  miles 
through  streams  and  canyons  of  great  beauty  till  I 
reached  a  grocery  store,  where  I  had  to  share  a  room 
with  a  large  family  and  three  teamsters ;  and  being 
almost  suffocated  by  the  curtain  partition,  got  up  at 
four,  before  any  one  was  stirring,  saddled  Birdie,  and 
rode  away  in  the  darkness,  leaving  my  money  on  the 
table !  It  was  a  short  eighteen  miles'  ride  to  Denver 
down  the  Turkey  Creek  Canyon,  which  contains  some 
magnificent  scenery,  and  then  the  road  ascends  and 
hangs  on  the  ledge  of  a  precipice  600  feet  in  depth, 
such  a  narrow  road  that  on  meeting  a  waggon  I  had 
to  dismount  for  fear  of  hurting  my  feet  with  the 
wheels.  From  thence  there  was  a  wonderful  view 
through  the  rolling  Foot  Hills  and  over  the  gray- 

1  MAT  1878. — I  am  copying  this  letter  in  the  city  of  San  Fran- 
sisco,  and  regretfully  add  a  strong  emphasis  to  what  I  have  written 
above.  The  best  and  most  thoughtful  among  Americans  would 
endorse  these  remarks  with  shame  and  pain. — I.  L,  B. 


ii.  TUB  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  215 

brown  plains  to  Denver.  Not  a  tree  or  shrub  was  to 
be  seen,  everything  was  rioting  in  summer  heat  and 
drought  while  behind  lay  the  last  grand  canyon  of 
the  mountains,  dark  with  pines  and  cool  with  snow. 
I  left  the  track  and  took  a  short  cut  over  the  prairie 
to  Denver,  passing  through  an  encampment  of  the 
Ute  Indians  about  500  strong,  a  disorderly  and  dirty 
huddle  of  lodges,  ponies,  men,  squaws,  children,  skins, 
bones,  and  raw  meat. 

The  Americans  will  never  solve  the  Indian  pro- 
blem till  the  Indian  is  extinct.  They  have  treated, 
them  after  a  fashion  which  has  intensified  their 
treachery  and  "  devilry "  as  enemies,  and  as  friends 
reduces  them  to  a  degraded  pauperism,  devoid  of  the 
very  first  elements  of  civilisation.  The  only  difference 
between  the  savage  and  the  civilised  Indian  is  that 
the  latter  carries  firearms  and  gets  drunk  on  whisky. 
The  Indian  Agency  has  been  a  sink  of  fraud  and  cor- 
ruption ;  it  is  said  that  barely  thirty  per  cent  of  the 
allowance  ever  reaches  those  for  whom  it  is  voted;  and 
the  complaints  of  shoddy  blankets,  damaged  flour,  and 
worthless  firearms  are  universal  "  To  get  rid  of  the 
Injuns  "  is  the  phrase  used  everywhere.  Even  theii 
"  reservations  "  do  not  escape  seizure  practically  ; 
for  if  gold  "  breaks  out "  on  them  they  are  "  rushed," 
and  their  possessors  are  either  compelled  to  accept 
land  farther  west  or  are  shot  off  and  driven  off.  One 
of  the  surest  agents  in  their  destruction  is  vitriol  \m] 


°16  A  LADY'S  LIFE  Itf  LETTER  xn 

whisky.  An  attempt  has  recently  been  made  tc 
cleanse  the  Augean  stable  of  the  Indian  Department 
but  it  has  met  with  signal  failure,  the  usual  result  in 
America  of  every  effort  to  purify  the  official  atmo- 
sphere. Americans  specially  love  superlatives.  The 
phrases  "  biggest  in  the  world,"  "  finest  in  the  world," 
are  on  all  lips.  Unless  President  Hayes  is  a  strong 
man  they  will  soon  come  to  boast  that  their  government 
is  composed  of  the  "  biggest  scoundrels  "  in  the  world. 
As  I  rode  into  Denver  and  away  from  the  moun- 
tains the  view  became  glorious,  as  range  above  range 
crowned  with  snow  came  into  sight.  I  was  sure  that 
three  glistening  peaks  seventy  miles  north  were  the 
peerless  shapeliness  of  Long's  Peak,  the  king  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  and  the  "  mountain  fever"  returned 
so  severely  that  I  grudged  every  hour  spent  on  the 
dry,  hot  plains.  The  range  looked  lovelier  and 
sublimer  than  when  I  first  saw  it  from  Greeley,  all 
spiritualised  in  the  wonderful  atmosphere.  I  went 
direct  to  Evans's  house,  where  I  found  a  hearty  wel- 
come, as  they  had  been  anxious  about  my  safety,  and 
Evans  almost  at  once  arrived  from  Estes  Park  witb 
three  elk,  one  grizzly,  and  one  bighorn  in  his  waggon 
Regarding  a  place  and  life  one  likes  (in  spite  of  alJ 
lessons)  one  is  sure  to  think,  "  To-morrow  shall  be  as 
this  day,  and  much  more  abundant;"  and  all  through 
my  tour  1  had  thought  of  returning  to  Estes  Park 
and  finding  everything  just  as  it  was.  Evans  brought 


I.KTTKI:  XII. 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  217 


the  unwelcome  news  that  the  goodly  fellowship  was 
broken  up.  The  Dewys  and  Mr.  Waller  were  in  Den- 
ver, and  the  house  was  dismantled,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Ed- 
wards alone  remaining,  who  were,  however,  expecting 
me  back.  Saturday,  though  like  a  blazing  summer 
day,  was  wonderful  in  its  beauty,  and  after  sunset  the 
afterglow  was  richer  and  redder  than  I  have  ever 
seen  it,  but  the  heavy  crimson  betokened  severe  heat, 
which  came  on  yesterday,  and  was  hardly  bearable. 
I  attended  service  twice  at  the  Episcopal  Church, 
where  the  service  was  beautifully  read  and  sung 
but  in  a  city  in  which  men  preponderate  the  congre- 
gation was  mainly  composed  of  women,  who  fluttered 
their  fans  in  a  truly  distracting  way.  Except  for  the 
churchgoing  there  were  few  perceptible  signs  of  Sun- 
day in  Denver,  which  was  full  of  rowdies  from  the 
mountain  mining  camps.  You  can  hardly  imagine 
the  delight  of  joining  in  those  grand  old  prayers  after 
so  long  a  deprivation.  The  "Te  Deum"  sounded 
heavenly  in  its  magnificence;  but  the  heat  was  so 
tremendous  that  it  was  hard  to  "warstle"  through 
the  day.  They  say  that  they  have  similar  outbreaks 
of  solar  fury  all  through  the  winter. 

GOLDEN  CITY,  November  1& 

Pleasant  as  Denver  was,  with  the  Dewys  and 
so  many  kind  friends  there,  it  was  too  much  of  the 
"  wearing  world  "  either  for  my  health  or  taste,  and 


218  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEB  XIL 

I  left  for  my  sixteen  miles'  ride  to  this  place  at 
four  on  Monday  afternoon  with  the  sun  still  hot 
Passing  by  a  bare,  desolate-looking  cemetery,  I 
asked  a  sad-looking  woman  who  was  leaning  on- 
the  gate  if  she  could  direct  me  to  Golden  City. 
I  repeated  the  question  twice  before  I  got  an  answer, 
and  then,  though  easily  to  be  accounted  for,  it  was 
wide  of  the  mark.  In  most  doleful  tones  she  said, 
"  Oh,  go  to  the  minister ;  I  might  tell  you,  may  be, 
but  it's  too  great  a  responsibility ;  go  to  the  ministers, 
they  can  tell  you  !"  And  she  returned  to  her  tears 
for  some  one  whose  spirit  she  was  doubtless  thinking 
of  as  in  the  Golden  City  of  our  hopes.  That  sixteen 
miles  seemed  like  one  mile,  after  sunset,  in  the 
rapturous  freshness  of  the  Colorado  air,  and  Birdie, 
after  her  two  days'  rest  and  with  a  lightened  load,, 
galloped  across  the  prairie  as  if  she  enjoyed  it.  I 
did  not  reach  this  gorge  till  late,  and  it  was  an  hour 
after  dark  before  I  groped  my  way  into  this  dark, 
unlighted  mining  town,  where,  however,  we  were 
most  fortunate  both  as  to  stable  and  accommodation 
for  myself. 

BOULDER,  November  16. 

I  fear  you  will  grow  tired  of  the  details  of  these 
journal  letters.  To  a  person  sitting  quietly  at  home, 
Eocky  Mountain  travelling,  like  Eocky  Mountain 
scenery,  must  seem  very  monotonous  ;  but  not 
so  to  me,  to  whom  the  pure,  dry  mountain  ail- 


LETTER  xii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  219 

is  the  elixir  of  life.  At  Golden  City  I  parted 
for  a  time  from  my  faithful  pony,  as  Clear  Creek 
Canyon,  which  leads  from  it  to  Idaho,  is  entirely 
monopolised  by  a  narrow-gauge  railroad,  and  is  in- 
accessible for  horses  or  mules.  To  be  without  a 
horse  in  these  mountains  is  to  be  reduced  to  complete 
helplessness.  My  great  wish  was  to  see  Green  Lake, 
situated  near  the  timber  line  above  Georgetown  (said 
to  be  the  highest  town  in  the  United  States),  at  a 
height  of  9000  feet.  ^  single  day  took  me  from  the 
heat  of  summer  into  the  intense  cold  of  winter. 
Golden  City  by  daylight  showed  its  meanness  and 
belied  its  name.  It  is  ungraded,  with  here  and  there 
a  piece  of  wooden  sidewalk,  supported  on  posts,  up 
to  which  you  ascend  by  planks.  Brick,  pine,  and 
log  houses  are  huddled  together,  every  other  house  is 
a  saloon,  and  hardly  a  woman  is  to  be  seen.  My 
landlady  apologised  for  the  very  exquisite  little  bed- 
room which  she  gave  me  by  saying  "  it  was  not  quite 
as  she  would  like  it,  but  she  had  never  had  a  lady  in 
her  house  before."  The  young  "  lady  "  who  waited 
at  breakfast  said,  "  I've  been  thinking  about  you,  and 
I'm  certain  sure  you're  an  authoress."  The  day,  as 
usual,  was  glorious.  Think  of  November  half  through 
and  scarcely  even  a  cloud  in  the  sky,  except  the 
vermilion  cloudlets  which  accompany  the  sun  at  his 
rising  and  setting !  They  say  that  winter  never  "  seta 
in  "  there  in  the  Foot  Hills,  but  that  there  are  spell?- 


220  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XIL 

of  cold,  alternating  with  bright,  hot  weather,  and  that 
the  snow  never  lies  on  the  ground  so  as  to  interfere 
with  the  feed  of  cattle.  Golden  City  rang  with  oaths 
and  curses,  especially  at  the  depot.  Americans  are 
given  over  to  the  most  atrocious  swearing,  and  the 
blasphemous  use  of  our  Saviour's  name  is  peculiarly 
revolting.  Golden  City  stands  at  the  mouth  of 
Toughcuss,  otherwise  Clear  Creek  Canyon,  which 
many  people  think  the  grandest  scenery  in  the 
mountains,  as  it  twists  and  turns  marvellously,  and 
its  stupendous  sides  are  nearly  perpendicular,  while 
farther  progress  is  to  all  appearance  continually 
blocked  by  great  masses  of  rock  and  piles  of  snow- 
covered  mountains.  Unfortunately,  its  sides  have 
been  almost  entirely  denuded  of  timber,  mining 
operations  consuming  any  quantity  of  it.  The 
narrow-gauge,  steep-grade  railway,  which  runs  up  the 
canyon  for  the  convenience  of  the  rich  mining  dis- 
tricts of  Georgetown,  Black  Hawk,  and  Central  City, 
is  a  curiosity  of  engineering.  The  track  has  partly 
been  blasted  out  of  the  sides  of  the  canyon,  and  has 
partly  been  "  built "  by  making  a  bed  of  stones  in  the 
creek  itself,  and  laying  the  track  across  them.  I  have 
never  seen  such  churlishness  and  incivility  as  in  the 
officials  of  that  railroad  and  the  stage-lines  which 
connect  with  it,  or  met  with  such  preposterous 
charges.  They  have  handsome  little  cars  on  the 
route,  but  though  the  passengers  paid  full  fare,  they 


LKTTBBXIL  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  221 

put  us  into  a  baggage-car  because  the  season  waa 
over,  and  in  order  to  see  anything  I  was  obliged  to 
sit  on  the  floor  at  the  door.  The  singular  grandeur 
cannot  be  described.  It  is  a  mere  gash  cut  by  the 
torrent,  twisted,  walled,  chasmed,  weather-stained, 
with  the  most  brilliant  colouring,  generally  dark  with 
shadow,  but  its  utter  desolation  occasionally  revealed 
by  a  beam  of  intense  sunshine.  A  few  stunted  pines 
and  cedars,  spared  because  of  their  inaccessibility, 
hung  here  and  there  out  of  the  rifts.  Sometimes  the 
walls  of  the  abyss  seemed  to  meet  overhead,  and  then 
widening  out,  the  rocks  assumed  fantastic  forms,  all 
grandeur,  sublimity,  and  almost  terror.  After  two 
hours  of  this,  the  track  came  to  an  end,  and  the 
canyon  widened  sufficiently  for  a  road,  all  stones, 
holes,  and  sidings.  There  a  great  "  Concord  coach  " 
waited  for  us,  intended  for  twenty  passengers,  and  a 
mountain  of  luggage  in  addition,  and  the  four  pass- 
engers without  any  luggage  sat  on  the  seat  behind 
the  driver,  so  that  the  huge  thing  bounced  and  swung 
upon  the  straps  on  which  it  was  hung  so  as  to  recall 
the  worst  horrors  of  New  Zealand  staging.  The 
driver  never  spoke  without  an  oath,  and  though  two 
ladbs  were  passengers,  cursed  his  splendid  horses  the 
whole  time.  Formerly,  even  the  most  profane  men 
intermitted  their  profanity  in  the  presence  of  women, 
but  they  "  have  changed  all  that."  Every  one  I  saw 
up  there  seemed  in  a  bad  temper.  I  suspect  that 


222  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  IIL 

all  their  "  smart  tricks "  in  mining  shares  had  gone- 
wrong. 

The  road  pursued  the  canyon  to  Idaho  Springs, 
a  fashionable  mountain  resort  in  the  summer,  but 
deserted  now,  where  we  took  a  superb  team  of  six 
horses,  with  which  we  attained  a  height  of  10,000 
feet,  and  then  a  descent  of  1000  took  us  into  George- 
town, crowded  into  as  remarkable  a  gorge  as  was 
ever  selected  for  the  site  of  a  town,  the  canyon 
beyond  apparently  terminating  in  precipitous  and 
inaccessible  mountains,  sprinkled  with  pines  up  to 
the  timber-line,  and  thinly  covered  with  snow.  The 
area  on  which  it  is  possible  to  build  is  so  circum- 
scribed and  steep,  and  the  unpainted  gable-ended 
houses  are  so  perched  here  and  there,  and  the  water 
rushes  so  impetuously  among  them,  that  it  reminded 
me  slightly  of  a  Swiss  town.  All  the  smaller  houses 
are  shored  up  with  young  pines  on  one  side,  to  pre- 
vent them  from  being  blown  away  by  the  fierce  gusts 
which  sweep  the  canyon.  It  is  the  only  town  I  have 
seen  in  America  to  which  the  epithet  picturesque 
sould  be  applied.  But  truly,  seated  in  that  deep 
hollow  in  the  cold  and  darkness,  it  is  in  a  terrible 
situation,  with  the  alpine  heights  towering  round  it. 
I  arrived  at  three,  but  its  sun  had  set,  and  it  lay  in 
deep  shadow.  In  fact,  twilight  seemed  coming  on, 
and  as  I  had  been  unable  to  get  my  circular  notes 
cashed  at  Denver,  I  had  no  money  to  stay  over  the 


I.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  223 

next  day,  and  much  feared  that  I  should  lose  Green 
Lake,  the  goal  of  my  journey.  We  drove  through 
the  narrow,  piled-up,  irregular  street,  crowded  with 
miners  standing  in  groups,  or  drinking  and  gaming 
under  the  verandahs,  to  a  good  hotel  declivitously 
situated,  where  I  at  once  inquired  if  I  could  get  to 
Green  Lake.  The  landlord  said  he  thought  not ;  the 
snow  was  very  deep,  and  no  one  had  been  up  for  five 
weeks,  but  for  my  satisfaction  he  would  send  to  a 
stable  and  inquire.  The  amusing  answer  came  back, 
"  If  it'a  the  English  lady  travelling  in  the  mountains, 
fine  can  have  a  horse,  but  not  any  one  else." 


LETTER    Xin. 

The  Blight  of  Mining— Green  Lake— Golden  City— Benighted- 
Vertigo — Boulder  Canyon — Financial  straits — A  hard  Ride—- 
The last  Cent — A  Bachelor's  Home — Mountain  Jim— A  Sur- 
prise— A  Night  Arrival  —  Making  the  best  of  it — Scanty 
Fare. 

BOULDER,  November, 

THE  answer  regarding  a  horse  (at  the  end  of  my  former 
letter)  was  given  to  the  landlord  outside  the  hotel,  and 
presently  he  came  in  and  asked  my  name,  and  if  I  were 
the  lady  who  had  crossed  from  Link's  to  South  Park  by 
Tarryall  Creek;  so  news  travels  fast.  In  five  minutes 
the  horse  was  at  the  door,  with  a  clumsy  two-horned 
side-saddle,  and  I  started  at  once  for  the  upper  regions. 
It  was  an  exciting  ride,  much  spiced  with  apprehen- 
sion. The  evening  shadows  had  darkened  over 
Georgetown,  and  I  had  2000  feet  to  climb,  or  give  up 
Green  Lake.  I  shall  forget  many  things,  but  never 
the  awfulness  and  hugeness  of  that  scenery.  I  went 
up  a  steep  track  by  Clear  Creek,  then  a  succession 
of  frozen  waterfalls  in  a  widened  and  then  narrowed 
valley,  whose  frozen  sides  looked  5000  feet  high. 
That  is  the  region  of  enormous  mineral  wealth  in 


LETTER  xiii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  225 

silver.  There  are  the  "  Terrible "  and  other  mines, 
whose  shares  you  can  see  quoted  daily  in  the  share 
lists  in  the  Times,  sometimes  at  cent  per  cent  pre- 
mium, and  then  down  to  25  discount.  These  mines, 
with  their  prolonged  subterranean  workings,  their 
stamping  and  crushing  mills,  and  the  smelting  works 
which  have  been  established  near  them,  fill  the  dis- 
trict with  noise,  hubbub,  and  smoke  by  night  and 
day ;  but  I  had  turned  altogether  aside  from  them 
into  a  still  region,  where  each  miner  in  solitude  was 
grubbing  for  himself,  and  confiding  to  none  his  finds 
or  disappointments.  Agriculture  restores  and  beauti- 
fies, mining  destroys  and  devastates;  turning  the 
earth  inside  out,  making  it  hideous,  and  blighting 
every  green  thing,  as  it  usually  blights  man's  heart 
and  soul.  There  was  mining  everywhere  along  that 
grand  road,  with  all  its  destruction  and  devastation, 
its  digging,  burrowing,  gulching,  and  sluicing;  and 
up  all  alung  the  seemingly  inaccessible  heights  were 
holes  with  their  roofs  log-supported,  in  which  solitary 
and  patient  men  were  selling  their  lives  for  treasure. 
Down  by  the  stream,  all  among  the  icicles,  men 
were  sluicing  and  washing,  and  everywhere  along 
the  heights  were  the  scars  of  hardly-passable  trails, 
too  steep  even  for  pack-jacks,  leading  to  the  holes, 
and  down  which  the  miner  packs  the  ore  on  his 
back.  Many  a  heart  has  been  broken  for  the  few 
finds  which  have  been  made  along  those  hill-sidea 

Q 


U26  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER 

All  the  ledges  are  covered  with  charred  stumps,  a 
picture  of  desolation,  where  nature  had  made  every- 
thing grand  and  fair.  But  even  from  all  this  I 
turned.  The  last  miner  I  saw  gave  me  explicit 
directions,  and  I  left  the  track  and  struck  upwards 
into  the  icy  solitudes — sheets  of  ice  at  first,  then 
snow,  over  a  foot  deep,  pure  and  powdery,  then  a 
very  difficult  ascent  through  a  pine  forest,  where  it 
was  nearly  dark,  the  horse  tumbling  about  in  deep 
snow-drifts.  But  the  goal  was  reached,  and  none 
too  soon.  At  a  height  of  nearly  12,000  feet  I  halted 
on  a  steep  declivity,  and  below  me,  completely  girdled 
by  dense  forests  of  pines,  with*  mountains  red  and 
glorified  in  the  sunset  rising  above  them,  was  Green 
Lake,  looking  like  water,  but  in  reality  a  sheet  of 
ice  two  feet  thick.  From  the  gloom  and  chill  below 
I  had  come  up  into  the  pure  air  and  sunset  light, 
and  the  glory  of  the  unprofaned  works  of  God.  It 
brought  to  my  mind  the  verse,  "The  darkness  is 
past,  and  the  true  light  now  shineth ; "  and,  as  if  in 
-commentary  upon  it,  were  the  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  men  delving  in  dark  holes  in  the  gloom  of 
the  twilight  below. 

"  0  earth,  so  full  of  dreary  noises  ' 

0  men,  with  wailing  in  your  voices, 

0  delved  gold,  the  waller's  heap, 

0  strife  and  curse  that  o'er  it  fall, 

God  strikes  a  silence  through  you  all, 

He  giveth  His  beloved  sleep." 


LETTER  XIIL  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  227 

It  was  sometliing  to  reach  that  height  aud  see 
the  far-off  glory  of  the  sunset,  and  by  it  to  be  re- 
minded that  neither  God  nor  His  sun  had  yet  de- 
serted the  world.  But  the  sun  was  fast  going  down, 
and  even  as  I  gazed  upon  the  wonderful  vision  the 
glory  vanished,  and  the  peaks  became  sad  and  gray. 
It  was  strange  to  be  the  only  human  being  at  that 
glacial  altitude,  and  to  descend  again  through  a  foot 
of  untrodden  snow  and  over  sloping  sheets  of  ice 
into  the  darkness,  and  to  see  the  hill-sides  like  a 
firmament  of  stars,  each  showing  the  place  where  a 
solitary  man  in  his  hole  was  delving  for  silver.  The 
view,  as  long  as  I  could  see  it,  was  quite  awful.  It 
looked  as  if  one  could  not  reach  Georgetown  without 
tumbling  down  a  precipice.  Precipices  there  were 
in  plenty  along  the  road,  skirted  with  ice  to  their 
verge.  It  was  the  only  ride  which  required  nerve 
that  I  have  taken  in  Colorado,  and  it  was  long  after 
dark  when  I  returned  from  my  exploit. 

I  left  Georgetown  at  eight  the  next  morning  on 
the  Idaho  stage,  in  glorious  cold.  In  this  dry  air  it 
is  quite  warm  if  there  are  only  a  few  degrees  of  frost. 
The  sun  does  not  rise  in  Georgetown  till  eleven  now; 
I  doubt  if  it  rises  there  at  all  in  the  winter !  After 
four  hours'  fearful  bouncing,  the  baggage-car  again 
received  us,  but  this  time  the  conductor,  remarking 
that  he  supposed  I  was  just  travelling  to  see  the 
country,  gave  me  his  ch'air  and  put  it  on  the  plat- 


228  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xiu 

form,  so  that  I  had  an  excellent  view  of  that  truly 
sublime  canyon.    For  economy  I  dined  in  a  restaurant 
in  Golden  City,  and  at  three  remounted  my  trusty 
Birdie,  intending  to  arrive  here  that  night.     The  ad- 
venture I  met  with  is  almost  too  silly  to  tell.    When 
I  left  Golden  City  it  was  a  brilliant  summer  after- 
noon, and  not  too  hot.     They  could  not  give  any 
directions  at  the  stable,  and  told  me  to  go  out  on  the 
Denver  track  till  I  met  some  one  who  could  direct, 
me,  which  started  me  off  wrong  from  the  first.    After 
riding  about  two  miles  I  met  a  man  who  told  me  I 
was  all  wrong,  and  directed  me  across  the  prairie  till 
I  met  another,  who  gave  me  so  many  directions  that 
I  forgot  them,  and  was  irretrievably  lost.     The  after- 
glow, seen  to  perfection  on  the  open  plain,  was  won- 
derful.    Just  as  it  grew  dark  I  rode  after  a  teamster 
who  said  I  was  then  four  miles  farther  from  Boulder 
than  when  I  left  Golden,  and  directed  me  to  a  house 
seven   miles   off.     I  suppose  he  thought   I   should 
know,  for  he  told  me  to  cross  the  prairie  till  I  came 
to  a  place  where  three  tracks  are  seen,  and  t«here  to 
take  the  best-travelled  one,  steering  all  the  time  by 
the  north  star.    His  directions  did  bring  me  to  tracks, 
but  it  was  then  so  dark  that  I  could  see  nothing,, 
and  soon  became  so  dark  that  I  could  not  even  see 
Birdie's  ears,  and  was  lost  and  benighted.    I  rode  on, 
hour  after  hour,  in  the  darkness  and  solitude,  the 
prairie  all  round  and  a   firmament  of  frosty  stare- 


LETTLR  xm.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  229 

overhead.  The  prairie  wolf  howled  now  and  then, 
and  occasionally  the  lowing  of  cattle  gave  me  hope 
of  human  proximity.  But  there  was  nothing  but  the 
lone  wild  plain.  You  can  hardly  imagine  the  longing 
to  see  a  light,  to  hear  a  voice,  the  intensely  eerie 
feeling  of  being  alone  in  that  vast  solitude.  It  was 
freezing  very  sharply  and  was  very  cold,  and  I  was 
making  up  my  mind  to  steer  all  night  for  the  Pole 
Star,  much  fearing  that  I  should  be  brought  up  by 
one  of  the  affluents  of  the  Platte,  or  that  Birdie 
would  tire,  when  I  heard  the  undertoned  bellowing 
of  a  bull,  which,  from  the  snorting  and  rooting  up 
of  earth,  seemed  to  be  disputing  the  right  of  way, 
and  the  pony  was  afraid  to  pass.  While  she  was 
scuffling  about,  I  heard  a  dog  bark  and  a  man  swear ; 
then  I  saw  a  light,  and  in  another  minute  found 
myself  at  a  large  house,  where  I  knew  the  people, 
only  eleven  miles  from  Denver !  It  was  nearly  mid- 
night, and  light,  warmth,  and  a  good  bed  were  truly 
welcome. 

You  can  form  no  idea  of  what  the  glory  on  the 
plains  is  just  before  sunrise.  Like  the  afterglow^  for 
a  great  height  above  the  horizon  there  is  a  shaded 
band  of  the  most  intense  and  glowing  orange,  while 
the  mountains  which  reflect  the  yet  unrisen  sun  have 
the  purple  light  of  amethysts.  I  left  early,  but  soon 
lost  the  track  and  was  lost ;  but  knowing  that  a  sub- 
lime gash  in  the  mountains  was  Bear  Canyon,  nr.ite 


230  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xm 

near  Boulder,  I  struck  across  the  prairie  for  it,  and 
then  found  the  Boulder  track.  "  The  best-laid  schemes 
of  men  and  mice  gang  aft  agee,"  and  my  exploits 
came  to  an  untimely  end  to-day.  On  arriving  here, 
instead  of  going  into  the  mountains,  I  was  obliged  to 
go  to  bed  in  consequence  of  vertigo,  headache,  and 
faintness,  produced  by  the  intense  heat  of  the  sun. 
In  all  that  weary  land  there  was  no  "  shadow  of  a 
great  rock"  under  which  to  rest.  The  gravelly, 
baked  soil  reflected  the  fiery  sun,  and  it  was  nearly 
maddening  to  look  up  at  the  cool  blue  of  the  moun- 
tains, with  their  stretches  of  pines  and  their  deep 
indigo  shadows.  Boulder  is  a  hideous  collection  oi 
frame  houses  on  the  burning  plain,  but  it  aspiies  to 
be  a  "  city  "  in  virtue  of  being  a  "  distributing  point " 
for  the  settlements  up  the  Boulder  Canyon,  and  of 
the  discovery  of  a  coal-seam. 

LONGMOUNT,  November. 

I  got  up  very  early  this  morning,  and  on  a 
hired  horse  went  nine  miles  up  the  Boulder  Can- 
yon, which  is  much  extolled,  but  I  was  greatly  dis- 
appointed with  everything  except  its  superb  waggon- 
road,  and  much  disgusted  with  the  laziness  of  the 
horse.  A  ride  of  fifteen  miles  across  the  prairie 
brought  me  here  early  in  the  afternoon,  but  of 
the  budget  of  letters  which  I  expected  there  is  not 
one.  Birdie  looks  in  such  capital  condition  that 


LETTER  xi  ii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  231 

my  host  here  can  hardly  believe  that  she  has  tra- 
velled over  500  miles.  I  am  feeling  "  the  pinch  of 
poverty"  rather  severely.  When  I  have  paid  my 
bill  here  I  shall  have  exactly  twenty-six  cents  left. 
Evans  was  quite  unable  to  pay  the  hundred  dollars 
which  he  owes  me,  and,  to  save  themselves,  the 
Denver  banks,  though  they  remain  open,  have  sus- 
pended payment,  and  would  not  cash  my  circular 
notes.  The  financial  straits  are  very  serious,  and 
the  unreasoning  panic  which  has  set  in  makes  them 
worse.  The  present  state  of  matters  is — nobody 
has  any  money,  so  nothing  is  worth  anything.  The 
result  to  me  is  that,  nolens  wlens,  I  must  go  up  to 
Estes  Park,  where  I  can  live  without  ready  money, 
and  remain  there  till  things  change  for  the  better. 
It  does  not  seem  a  very  hard  fate!  Long's  Peak 
rises  in  purple  gloom,  and  I  long  for  the  cool  air 
and  unfettered  life  of  the  solitary  blue  hollow  at  its 

base. 

ESTES  PARK,  November  SO. 

Would  that  three  notes  of  admiration  were  all'I  need 
give  to  my  grand  solitary,  uplifted,  sublime,  remote, 
beast-haunted  lair,  which  seems  more  indescribable 
than  ever ;  but  you  will  wish  to  know  how  I  have  sped, 
and  I  wish  you  to  know  my  present  singular  circum- 
stances. I  left  Longmount  at  eight  on  Saturday  morning, 
rather  heavily  loaded,  for  in  addition  to  my  own  lug- 
gage I  was  asked  to  carry  the  mail-bag,  which  was  heavy 


232  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xni, 

with  newspapers.  Edwards,  with  his  wife  and  family 
were  still  believed  to  be  here.  A  heavy  snowstorm 
was  expected,  and  all  the  sky — that  vast  dome  which 
Bpans  the  plains — was  overcast ;  but  over  the  moun- 
tains it  was  a  deep,  still,  sad  blue,  into  which  snowy 
peaks  rose  sunlighted.  It  was  a  lonely,  mournful- 
looking  morning,  but  when  I  reached  the  beautiful 
canyon  of  the  St.  Vrain,  the  sad  blue  became  bril- 
liant, and  the  sun  warm  and  scintillating.  Ah,  how 
beautiful  and  incomparable  the  ride  up  here  is,  in- 
finitely more  beautiful  than  the  much-vaunted  parts 
I  have  seen  elsewhere.  There  is,  first,  this  beautiful 
hill-girdled  valley  of  fair  savannahs,  through  which 
the  bright  St.  Vrain  curves  in  and  out  amidst  a  tangle 
of  cotton-wood  and  withered  clematis  and  Virginia 
creeper,  which  two  months  ago  made  the  valley  gay 
with  their  scarlet  and  gold.  Then  the  canyon,  with 
its  fantastically-stained  walls ;  then  the  long  ascent 
through  sweeping  foothills  to  the  gates  of  rock  at  a 
height  of  9000  feet ;  then  the  wildest  and  most  won- 
derful scenery  for  twenty  miles,  in  which  you  cross 
thirteen  ranges  from  9000  to  11,000  feet  high,  pass 
through  countless  canyons  and  gulches,  cross  thirteen 
dark  fords,  and  finally  descend,  through  M'Ginn's 
Gulch,  upon  this,  the  gem  of  the  Eocky  Mountains. 
It  was  a  weird  ride.  I  got  on  very  slowly.  The 
road  is  a  hard  one  for  any  horse,  specially  for  a 
heavily-loaded  one,  and  at  the  end  of  several  weeks 


LITTER  xin.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  233 

of  severe  travel  When  I  had  ridden  fifteen  miles  I 
stopped  at  the  ranch  where  people  usually  get  food, 
but  it  was  empty,  and  the  next  was  also  deserted. 
So  I  was  compelled  to  go  to  the  last  house,  where  two 
young  men  are  "  baching."  There  I  had  to  decide 
between  getting  a  meal  for  myself  or  a  feed  for  the 
pony;  but  the  young  man,  on  hearing  of  my  sore 
poverty,  trusted  me  "till  next  time."  His  house, 
for  order  and  neatness,  and  a  sort  of  sprightliness  of 
cleanliness — the  comfort  of  cleanliness  without  its 
severity — is  a  pattern  to  all  women,  while  the  clear 
eyes  and  manly  self-respect  which  the  habit  of  total 
abstinence  gives  in  this  country  are  a  pattern  to  all 
men.  He  cooked  me  a  splendid  dinner,  with  good 
tea.  After  dinner  I  opened  the  mail-bag,  and  was 
delighted  to  find  an  accumulation  of  letters  from  you ; 
but  I  sat  much  too  long  there,  forgetting  that  I  had 
twenty  miles  to  ride,  which  could  hardly  be  done  in 
less  than  six  hours.  It  was  then  brilliant.  I  had 
not  realised  the  magnificence  of  that  ride  when  I  took 
it  before,  but  the  pony  was  tired,  and  I  could  not 
hurry  her,  and  the  distance  seemed  interminable,  as 
after  every  range  I  crossed  another  range.  Then 
came  a  region  of  deep,  dark,  densely- wooded  gulches, 
only  a  few  feet  wide,  and  many  fords,  and  from  their 
cold  depths  I  saw  the  last  sunlight  fade  from  the 
brows  of  precipices  4000  feet  high.  It  was  eerie,  as 
darkness  came  on,  to  wind  in  and  out  in  the  pine- 


234  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xm 

shadowed  gloom,  sometimes  on  ice,  sometimes  in 
snow,  at  the  bottom  of  these  tremendous  chasms 
Wolves  howled  in  all  directions.  This  is  said  to 
denote  the  approach  of  a  storm.  During  this  twenty- 
mile  ride  I  met  a  hunter  with  an  elk  packed  on  his 
horse,  and  he  told  me  not  only  that  the  Edwardses 
were  at  the  cabin  yesterday,  but  that  they  were  going 
to  remain  for  two  weeks  longer,  no  matter  how 
uncongenial.  The  ride  did  seem  endless  after  dark- 
ness came  on.  Finally  the  last  huge  range  was  con- 
quered, the  last  deep  chasm  passed,  and  with  an 
eeriness  which  craved  for  human  companionship,  I 
rode  up  to  "  Mountain  Jim's"  den,  but  no  light  shone 
through  the  chinks,  and  all  was  silent.  So  I  rode 
tediously  down  M'Ginn's  Gulch,  which  was  full  of 
crackings  and  other  strange  mountain  noises,  and  was 
pitch  dark,  though  the  stars  were  bright  overhead. 
Soon  I  heard  the  welcome  sound  of  a  barking  dog. 
I  supposed  it  to  denote  strange  hunters,  but  calling 
"  Ring  "  at  a  venture,  the  noble  dog's  large  paws  and 
grand  head  were  in  a  moment  on  my  saddle,  and  he 
greeted  me  with  all  those  inarticulate  but  perfectly 
comprehensible  noises  with  which  dogs  welcome  their 
human  friends.  Of  the  two  men  on  horses  who 
accompanied  him,  one  was  his  master,  as  I  knew  by 
the  musical  voice  and  grace  of  manner,  but  it  was  too 
dark  to  see  any  one,  though  he  struck  a  light  to  show 
me  the  valuable  furs  with  which  one  of  the  horses 


LETTER  xiil  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  235 

was  loaded.  The  desperado  was  heartily  glad  to  see 
me,  and  sending  the  man  and  fur-laden  horse  on  to 
his  cabin,  he  turned  with  me  to  Evans's  ;  and  as  the 
cold  was  very  severe,  and  Birdie  was  very  tired,  we 
dismounted  and  walked  the  remaining  three  miles. 
All  my  visions  of  a  comfortable  reception  and  good 
meal  after  my  long  ride  vanished  with  his  first  words. 
The  Edwardses  had  left  for  the  winter  on  the  previous 
morning,  but  had  not  passed  through  Longinount ;  the 
cabin  was  dismantled,  the  stores  were  low,  and  two 
young  men,  Mr.  Kavan,  a  miner,  and  Mr.  Buchan, 
whom  I  was  slightly  acquainted  with  before,  were 
"  baching  "  there  to  look  after  the  stock  until  Evans, 
who  was  daily  expected,  returned.  The  other  settler 
and  his  wife  had  left  the  Park,  so  there  was  not  a 
woman  within  twenty-five  miles.  A  fierce  wind  had 
arisen,  and  the  cold  was  awful,  which  seemed  to  make 
matters  darker.  I  did  not  care  in  the  least  about 
myself,  I  could  rough  it,  and  enjoy  doing  so,  but  I 
was  very  sorry  for  the  young  men,  who,  I  knew, 
would  be  much  embarrassed  by  the  sudden  appear- 
ance of  a  lady  for  an  indefinite  time.  But  the  diffi- 
culty had  to  be  faced,  and  I  walked  in  and  took  them 
by  surprise  as  they  were  sitting  smoking  by  the  fire 
in  the  living-room,  which  was  dismantled,  unswept, 
and  wretched-looking.  The  young  men  did  not  show 
any  annoyance,  but  exerted  themselves  to  prepare  a 
meal,  and  courteously  made  Jim  share  it.  After  he 


236  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEB  xm 

had  gone,  I  boldly  confessed  my  impecunious  circum* 
stances,  and  told  them  that  I  must  stay  there  till 
things  changed,  that  I  hoped  not  to  inconvenience 
them  in  any  way,  and  that  by  dividing  the  work 
among  us  they  would  be  free  to  be  out  hunting.  So 
we  agreed  to  make  the  best  of  it.  [Our  arrangements, 
which  we  supposed  would  last  only  two  or  three  days, 
extended  over  nearly  a  month.  Nothing  could  exceed 
the  courtesy  and  good  feeling  which  these  young  men 
showed.  It  was  a  very  pleasant  time  on  the  whole, 
and  when  we  separated  they  told  me  that  though  they 
were  much  "  taken  aback  "  at  first,  they  felt  at  last 
that  we  could  get  on  in  the  same  way  for  a  year,  in 
which  I  cordially  agreed.]  Sundry  practical  difficul- 
ties had  to  be  faced  and  overcome.  There  was  one 
of  the  common  spring  mattresses  of  the  country  in 
the  little  room  which  opened  from  the  living-room, 
but  nothing  upon  it.  This  was  remedied  by  making 
a  large  bag  and  filling  it  with  hay.  Then  there  were 
neither  sheets,  towels,  nor  table-cloths.  This  was 
irremediable,  and  I  never  missed  the  first  or  last. 
Candles  were  another  loss,  and  we  had  only  one 
paraffin  lamp.  I  slept  all  night  in  spite  of  a  gale 
which  blew  all  Sunday  and  into  Monday  afternoon, 
threatening  to  lift  the  cabin  from  the  ground,  and 
actually  removing  part  of  the  roof  from  the  little 
room  between  the  kitchen  and  living-room,  in  which 
we  used  to  dine.  Sunday  was  brilliant,  but  nearly  a 


U5TTER  XIIL  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  237 

hurricane,  and  I  dared  not  stir  outside  the  cabin.  The 
parlour  was  two  inches  deep  in  the  mud  from  the 
roof.  We  nominally  divide  the  cooking.  Mr.  Kavan 
makes  the  best  bread  I  ever  ate ;  they  bring  in  wood 
and  water,  and  wash  the  supper-things,  and  I  "  do  " 
my  room  and  the  parlour,  wash  the  breakfast-things, 
and  a  number  of  etceteras.  My  room  is  easily 
•"  done,"  but  the  parlour  is  a  never-ending  business. 
I  have  swept  shovelfuls  of  mud  out  of  it  three  times 
to-day.  There  is  nothing  to  dust  it  with  but  a  buf- 
falo's tail,  and  every  now  and  then  a  gust  descends 
the  open  chimney  and  drives  the  wood  ashes  all  over 
the  room.  However,  I  have  found  an  old  shawl 
which  answers  for  a  table-cloth,  and  have  made  our 
"  parlour "  look  a  little  more  habitable.  Jim  came 
in  yesterday  in  a  silent  mood,  and  sat  looking  vacantly 
into  the  fire.  The  young  men  said  that  this  mood 
was  the  usual  precursor  of  an  "  ugly  fit." 

Food  is  a  great  difficulty.  Of  thirty  milch  cows 
only  one  is  left,  and  she  does  not  give  milk  enough 
for  us  to  drink.  The  only  meat  is  some  pickled  pork, 
very  salt  and  hard,  which  I  cannot  eat,  and  the  hens 
lay  less  than  one  egg  a  day.  Yesterday  morning  I 
made  some  rolls,  and  made  the  last  bread  into  .a 
bread-and-butter  pudding,  which  we  all  enjoyed.  To- 
day I  found  part  of  a  leg  of  beef  hanging  in  the 
waggon-shed,  and  we  were  elated  with  the  prospect 
r«f  fresh  meat,  but  on  cutting  into  it  we  found  it  green 


238  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER 

and  uneatable.  Had  it  not  been  for  some  tea  which 
was  bestowed  upon  me  at  the  inn  at  Longmount  we 
should  have  had  none.  In  this  superb  air  and  phy- 
sically active  life  I  can  eat  everything  but  picklsd 
pork.  We  breakfast  about  nine>  dine  at  two,  and 
have  supper  at  seven,  but  our  menu  never  varies. 
To-day  I  have  been  all  alone  in  the  Park,  as  the  men 
left  to  hunt  elk  after  breakfast,  after  bringing  in  wood 
and  water.  The  sky  is  brilliant  and  the  light  intense, 
or  else  the  solitude  would  be  oppressive.  I  keep  two 
horses  in  the  corral  so  as  to  be  able  to  explore,  but 
except  Birdie,  who  is  turned  out,  none  of  the  animals 
are  worth  much  now  from  want  of  shoes,  and  tendta 
feet 


L»TTEB  xiv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  239 


LETTER    XIV. 

A  diamal  Ride  — A  Desperado's  Tale—  " Lost!  Lost!  Lottf— 
Winter  Glories — Solitude — Hard  Times — Intense  Cold — A 
Pack  of  Wolves— The  Beaver  Dams— Ghostly  Scenes— Venison 
Steaks — Our  Evenings. 

ESTES  PARK. 

I  MUST  attempt  to  put  down  the  trifling  events  of 
each  day  just  as  they  occur.  The  second  time  that 
I  was  left  alone  Mr.  Nugent  came  in  looking  very 
black,  and  asked  me  to  ride  with  him  to  see  the 
beaver  dams  on  the  Black  Canyon.  No  more  whist- 
ling or  singing,  or  talking  to  his  beautiful  mare,  or 
sparkling  repartee.  His  mood  was  ar  dark  as  the 
sky  overhead,  which  was  black  with  an  impending 
snowstorm.  He  was  quite  silent,  struck  his  horse 
often,  started  off  on  a  furious  gallop,  and  then  throw- 
ing his  mare  on  her  haunches  close  to  me,  said, 
"You're  the  first  man  or  woman  who's  treated  me 
like  a  human  being  for  many  a  year."  So  he  said  in 
this  dark  mood,  but  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Dewy,  who  took  a 
very  deep  interest  in  his  welfare,  always  treated  him 
as  a  rational,  intelligent  gentleman,  and  in  his  better 
moments  he  spoke  of  them  with  the  warmest  appre- 
ciation. "  If  you  want  to  know,"  he  continued, 


240  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XIT. 

*  how  nearly  a  man  can  become  a  devil,  I'll  tell  you 
now."  There  was  no  choice,  and  we  rode  up  the 
canyon,  and  I  listened  to  one  of  the  darkest  tales  of 
ruin  I  have  ever  heard  or  read.  Its  early  features 
were  very  simple.  His  father  was  a  British  oflicei 
quartered  at  Montreal,  of  a  good  old  Irish  family. 
From  his  account  he  was  an  ungovernable  boy,  im- 
perfectly educated,  and  tyrannising  over  a  loving  but 
weak  mother.  When  seventeen  years  old  he  saw  a 
young  girl  at  church  whose  appearance  he  described 
as  being  of  angelic  beauty,  and  fell  in  love  with  her 
with  all  the  intensity  of  an  uncontrolled  nature.  He 
saw  her  three  times,  but  scarcely  spoke  to  her.  On 
his  mother  opposing  his  wish  and  treating  it  as  a 
boyish  folly,  he  took  to  drink  "  to  spite  her,"  and 
almost  as  soon  as  he  was  eighteen,  maddened  by  the 
girl's  death,  he  ran  away  from  home,  entered  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Hudson's  Bay  Company,  and  remained  in 
it  for  several  years,  only  leaving  it  because  he  found 
even  that  lawless  life  too  strict  for  him.  Then,  being 
as  I  suppose  about  twenty-seven,  he  entered  the'  ser- 
vice of  the  United  States  Government,  and  became 
one  of  the  famous  Indian  Scouts  of  the  Plains,  dis- 
tinguishing himself  by  some  of  the  most  daring  deeds 
on  record,  and  some  of  the  bloodiest  crimes.  Some 
of  these  tales  I  have  heard  before,  but  never  so 
terribly  told.  Years  must  have  passed  in  that  ser- 
vice, till  he  became  a  character  known  through  all 


LETTER  XIY.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  241 

the  West,  and  much  dreaded  for  his  readiness  to  take 
offence,  and  his  equal  readiness  with  his  revolver. 
Vain,  even  in  his  dark  mood,  he  told  me  that  he  was 
idolised  by  women,  and  that  in  his  worst  hours  he 
was  always  chivalrous  to  good  women.  He  described 
himself  as  riding  through  camps  in  his  scout's  dress 
with  a  red  scarf  round  his  waist,  and  sixteen  golden 
curls,  eighteen  inches  long,  hanging  over  his  shoulders. 
The  handsome,  even  superbly  handsome,  side  of  his 
face  was  towards  me  as  he  spoke.  As  a  scout  and  as 
an  armed  escort  of  emigrant  parties  he  was  evidently 
implicated  in  all  the  blood  and  broil  of  a  lawless 
region  and  period,  and  went  from  bad  to  worse,  vary- 
ing his  life  by  drunken  sprees,  which  brought  nothing 
but  violence  and  loss.  The  narrative  seemed  to  lack 
some  link,  for  I  next  found  him  on  a  homestead  in 
Missouri,  from  whence  he  came  to  Colorado  a  few 
years  ago.  There,  again,  something  was  dropped  out, 
but  I  suspect,  and  not  without  reason,  that  he  joined 
one  or  more  of  those  gangs  of  "  border  ruffians  "  which 
for  so  long  raided  through  Kansas,  perpetrating  such 
massacres  and  outrages  as  that  of  the  Marais  du 
Cygne.  His  fame  for  violence  and  ruffianism  pre- 
ceded him  into  Colorado,  where  his  knowledge  of  and 
love  of  the  mountains  have  earned  him  the  sobriquet 
he  now  bears.  He  has  a  squatter's  claim  and  forty 
head  of  cattle,  and  is  a  successful  trapper  besides,  but 
envy  and  vindictiveness  are  raging  within  him.  H" 

& 


242  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XIT 

gets  money,  goes  to  Denver,  and  spends  large  sums  in 
the  maddest  dissipation,  making  himself  a  terror,  and 
going  beyond  even  such  desperadoes  as  "  Texas  Jack  " 
and  "Wild  Bill;"  and  when  the  money  is  done 
returns  to  his  mountain  den,  full  of  hatred  and  self- 
scorn,  till  the  next  time.  Of  course  I  cannot  give 
details.  The  story  took  three  hours  to  tell,  and  was 
crowded  with  terrific  illustrations  of  a  desperado's 
career,  told  with  a  rush  of  wild  eloquence  that  was 
truly  thrilling.  When  the  snow,  which  for  some  time 
had  been  falling,  compelled  him  to  break  off  and 
guide  me  to  a  sheltered  place  from  which  I  could 
make  my  own  way  back  again,  he  stopped  his  horse 
and  said,  "  Now  you  see  a  man  who  has  made  a  devil 
of  himself !  Lost !  Lost !  Lost !  I  believe  in  God. 
I've  given  Him  no  choice  but  to  put  me  with  *  the 
devil  and  his  angels.'  I'm  afraid  to  die.  You've 
stirred  the  better  nature  in  me  too  late.  I  can't 
change.  If  ever  a  man  were  a  slave,  I  am.  Don't 
speak  to  me  of  repentance  and  reformation.  I  can't 

reform.     Your  voice  reminded  me  of ."     Then 

in  feverish  tones,  "  How  dare  you  ride  with  me  ? 
You  won't  speak  to  me  again,  will  you  ? "  He  made 
me  promise  to  keep  one  or  two  things  secret  whether 
he  were  living  or  dead,  and  I  promised,  for  I  had  no 
choice  ;  but  they  come  between  me  and  the  sunshine 
sometimes,  and  I  wake  at  night  to  think  of  them.  I 
wish  1  had  been  spared  the  regret  and  excitement  of 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  242 

that  afternoon.  A  less  ungovernable  nature  would 
never  have  spoken  as  he  did,  nor  told  me  what  he 
did ;  but  his  proud,  fierce  soul  all  poured  itself  out 
then,  with  hatred  and  self-loathing,  blood  on  his 
hands  and  murder  in  his  heart,  though  even  then  he 
could  not  be  altogether  other  than  a  gentleman,  or 
altogether  divest  himself  of  fascination,  even  when  so 
tempestuously  revealing  the  darkest  points  of  his 
character.  My  soul  dissolved  in  pity  for  his  dark, 
lost,  self-ruined  life,  as  he  left  me  and  turned  away 
in  the  blinding  storm  to  the  Snowy  Range,  where  he 
said  he  was  going  to  camp  out  for  a  fortnight ;  a  man 
of  great  abilities,  real  genius,  singular  gifts,  and  with 
all  the  chances  in  life  which  other  men  have  had. 
How  far  more  terrible  than  the  "  Actum  est :  periisti  n 
of  Cowper  is  his  exclamation,  "  Lost !  Lost !  Lost  i " 

The  storm  was  very  severe,  and  the  landmarks 
being  blotted  out,  I  lost  my  way  in  the  snow,  and 
when  I  reached  the  cabin  after  dark  I  found  it  still 
empty,  for  the  two  hunters,  on  returning,  finding  that 
I  had  gone  out,  had  gone  in  search  of  me.  The  snow 
cleared  off  late,  and  intense  frost  set  in.  My  room 
is  nearly  the  open  air,  being  built  of  unchinked  logs, 
and,  as  in  the  open  air,  one  requires  to  sleep  with  the 
head  buried  in  blankets,  or  the  eyelids  and  breath 
freeze.  The  sunshine  has  been  brilliant  to-day.  I 
took  a  most  beautiful  ride  to  Black  Canyon  to  look 
for  the  horses.  Ev^ry  day  some  new  beauty,  or  effect 


244  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xiv. 

of  snow  and  light,  is  to  be  seen.  Nothing  that  I  have 
Been  in  Colorado  compares  with  Estes  Park;  and  now 
that  the  weather  is  magnificent,  and  the  mountain 
tops  above  the  pine  woods  are  pure  white,  there  is 
nothing  of  beauty  or  grandeur  for  which  the  heart  can 
wish  that  is  not  here ;  and  it  is  health-giving,  with 
pure  air,  pure  water,  and  absolute  dryness.  But  there 
is  something  very  solemn,  at  times  almost  over- 
whelming, in  the  winter  solitude.  I  have  never 
experienced  anything  like  it  even  when  I  lived  on 
the  slopes  of  Hualalai.  When  the  men  are  out 
hunting  I  know  not  where,  or  at  night,  when  storms 
sweep  down  from  Long's  Peak,  and  the  air  is  full  of 
stinging,  tempest-driven  snow,  and  there  is  barely  a 
probability  of  any  one  coming,  or  of  any  communica- 
tion with  the  world  at  all,  then  the  stupendous 
mountain  ranges  which  lie  between  us  and  the  plains 
grow  in  height  till  they  become  impassable  barriers, 
and  the  bridgeless  rivers  grow  in  depth,  and  I  wonder 
if  all  my  life  is  to  be  spent  here  in  washing  and 
sweeping  and  baking.  To-day  has  been  one  of 
manual  labour.  We  did  not  breakfast  till  9.30,  then 
the  men  went  out,  and  I  never  sat  down  till  two.  I 
cleaned  the  living-room  and  the  kitchen,  swept  a  path 
through  the  rubbish  in  the  passage-room,  washed  up, 
made  and  baked  a  batch  of  rolls  and  four  pounds  of 
sweet  biscuits,  cleaned  some  tins  and  pans,  washed 
some  clothes,  and  gave  things  generally  a  "  redding 


LETTER  xiv.  THE  KOOKY  MOUNTAINS.  245 

ap."  There  is  a  little  thick  buttermilk,  fully  six 
weeks  old,  at  the  bottom  of  a  churn,  which  I  use  for 
raising  the  rolls;  but  Mr.  Kavan,  who  makes  "  lovely" 
bread,  puts  some  flour  and  water  to  turn  sour  near 
the  stove,  and  this  succeeds  admirably.  I  also  made 
a  most  unsatisfactory  investigation  into  the  state  of 
my  apparel.  I  came  to  Colorado  HOW  nearly  three 
months  ago,  with  a  small  carpet-bag  containing 
clothes,  none  of  them  new ;  and  these,  by  legitimate 
wear,  the  depredations  of  calves,  and  the  necessity  of 
tearing  some  of  them  up  for  dish-cloths,  are  reduced 
to  a  single  change !  I  have  a  solitary  pocket-hand- 
kerchief and  one  pair  of  stockings,  such  a  mass  of 
darns  that  hardly  a  trace  of  the  original  wool  remains. 
Owing  to  my  inability  to  get  money  in  Denver  I  am 
almost  without  shoes,  have  nothing  but  a  pair  of 
slippers  and  some  "  arctics."  For  outer  garments — 
well,  I  have  a  trained  black  silk  dress,  with  a  black 
silk  polonaise !  and  nothing  else  but  my  old  flannel 
riding-suit,  which  is  quite  threadbare,  and  requires 
such  frequent  mending  that  I  am  sometimes  obliged 
to  "  dress  "  for  supper,  and  patch  and  darn  it  during 
the  evening.  You  will  laugh,  but  it  is  singular  that 
one  can  face  the  bitter  winds  with  the  mercury  at 
zero  and  below  it,  in  exactly  the  same  clothing  which 
I  wore  in  the  tropics  !  It  is  only  the  extreme  dry- 
ness  of  the  air  which  renders  it  possible  to  live 
in  such  clothing.  We  have  arranged  the  work 


246  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xiv. 

better.  Mr.  Buchan  was  doing  too  much,  and  it 
was  hard  for  him,  as  he  is  very  delicate.  You  will 
wonder  how  three  people  here  in  the  wilderness 
can  have  much  to  do.  There  are  the  horses  which 
we  keep  in  the  corral  to  feed  on  sheaf  oats  and 
take  to  water  twice  a  day,  the  fowls  and  dogs  to  feed, 
the  cow  to  milk,  the  bread  to  make,  and  to  keep  a 
general  knowledge  of  the  whereabouts  of  the  stock  in 
the  event  of  a  severe  snowstorm  coming  on.  Then 
there  is  all  the  wood  to  cut,  as  there  is  no  wood  pile, 
and  we  burn  a  great  deal,  and  besides  the  cooking, 
washing,  and  mending,  which  each  one  does,  the  men 
must  hunt  and  fish  for  their  living.  Then  two  sick 
cows  have  had  to  be  attended  to.  We  were  with  one 
when  it  died  yesterday.  It  suffered  terribly,  and 
looked  at  us  with  the  pathetically  pleading  eyes  of  a 
creature  "  made  subject  to  vanity."  The  disposal  of 
its  carcass  was  a  difficulty.  The  waggon  horses  were 
in  Denver,  and  when  we  tried  to  get  the  others  to 
pull  the  dead  beast  away,  they  only  kicked  and 
plunged,  so  we  managed  to  get  it  outside  the  shed, 
and  acsording  to  Mr.  Kavan's  prediction  a  pack  of 
wolves  came  down,  and  before  daylight  nothing  was 
left  but  the  bones.  They  were  so  close  to  the  cabin 
that  their  noise  was  most  disturbing,  and  on  looking 
out  several  times  I  could  see  them  all  in  a  heap 
wrangling  and  tumbling  over  each  other.  They  are 
much  larger  than  the  prairie  wolf,  but  equally 


LETTER  xiv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  24*7 

cowardly,  I  believe.  This  morning  was  black  with 
clouds,  and  a  snowstorm  was  threatened,  and  about 
700  cattle  and  a  number  of  horses  came  in  long  files 
from  the  valleys  and  canyons  where  they  maraud, 
their  instinct  teaching  them  to  seek  the  open  and  the 
protection  of  man.  I  was  alone  in  the  cabin  this 
afternoon  when  Mr.  Nugent,  whom  we  believed  to  be 
on  the  Snowy  Eange,  walked  in  very  pale  and  hag- 
gard-looking, and  coughing  severely.  He  offered  to 
show  me  the  trail  up  one  of  the  grandest  of  the  can- 
yons, and  I  could  not  refuse  to  go.  The  Fall  river 
has  had  its  source  completely  altered  by  the  opera- 
tions of  the  beavers.  Their  engineering  skill  is 
wonderful.  In  one  place  they  have  made  a  lake  by 
damming  up  the  stream ;  in  another  their  works  have 
created  an  island,  and  they  have  made  several  falls. 
Their  storehouses,  of  course,  are  carefully  concealed. 
By  ihis  time  they  are  about  full  for  the  winter.  We 
88^7  quantities  of  young  cotton- wood  and  aspen-trees, 
with  atems  about  as  thick  as  my  arm,  lying  where 
these  industrious  creatures  have  felled  them  ready  for 
their  use.  They  always  work  at  night  and  in  concert. 
Their  long,  sharp  teeth  are  used  for  gnawing  down 
the  trees,  but  their  mason-work  is  done  entirely  with 
their  flat,  trowel-like  tails.  In  its  natural  state  the 
fur  is  very  durable,  and  is  as  full  of  long  black 
hairs  as  that  of  the  sable,  but  as  sold,  all  these  hairs 
have  been  plucked  out  of  it.  The  canyon  was  crVri- 


248  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEFTER  xnr. 

ous,  all !  glorious  beyond  any  other,  but  it  was  a  dis» 
mal  and  depressing  ride.  The  dead  past  buried  its 
dead.  Not  an  allusion  was  made  to  the  conversation 
previously.  "Jim's"  manner  was  courteous,  but 
freezing,  and  when  I  left  him  on  my  return  he  said 
he  hardly  thought  he  should  be  back  from  the  Snowy 
Range  before  I  left.  Essentially  an  actor,  was  he,  I 
wonder,  posing  on  the  previous  day  in  the  attitude 
of  desperate  remorse,  to  impose  on  my  credulity  or 
frighten  me ;  or  was  it  a  genuine  and  unpremeditated 
outburst  of  passionate  regret  for  the  life  which  he 
had  thrown  away  ?  I  cannot  tell,  but  I  think  it  was 
the  last.  As  I  cautiously  rode  back,  the  sunset  glories 
were  reddening  the  mountain-tops,  and  the  Park  lay 
in  violet  gloom.  It  was  wonderfully  magnificent,  but 
oh,  so  solemn,  so  lonely !  I  rode  a  very  large,  well- 
bred  mare,  with  three  shoes  loose  and  one  off,  and  she 
fell  with  me  twice  and  was  very  clumsy  in  crossing 
the  Thompson,  which  was  partly  ice  and  partly  a 
deep  ford,  but  when  we  reached  comparatively  level 
grassy  ground  I  had  a  gallop  of  nearly  two  miles, 
which  I  enjoyed  thoroughly,  her  great  swinging  stride 
being  so  easy  and  exhilarating  after  Birdie's  short 
action. 

Friday. 

This  is  a  piteous  day,  quite  black,  freezing  hard, 
and  with  a  fierce  north-east  wind.  The  absence 
of  sunshine  here,  where  it  is  nearly  perpetual,  has 


LEFTER  xiv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS. 

a  very  depressing  effect,  and  all  the  scenery  appears 
in  its  grimness  of  black  and  gray.  We  have  lost 
three  horses,  including  Birdie,  and  have  nothing  to 
entice  them  with,  and  not  an  animal  to  go  and  drive 
them  in  with.  I  put  my  great  mare  in  the  corral 
myself,  and  Mr.  Kavan  put  his  in  afterwards  and 
secured  the  bars,  but  the  wolves  were  holding  a  car- 
nival again  last  night,  and  we  think  that  the  horses 
were  scared  and  stampeded,  as  otherwise  they  would 
not  have  leaped  the  fence.  The  men  are  losing  their 
whole  day  in  looking  for  them.  On  their  return  they 
said  that  they  had  seen  Mr.  Nugent  returning  to  his 
cabin  by  the  other  side  and  the  lower  ford  of  the 
Thompson,  and  that  he  had  "  an  awfully  ugly  fit  on 
him,"  so  that  they  were  glad  that  he  did  not  come 
near  us.  The  evening  is  setting  in  sublime  in  its 
blackness.  Late  in  the  afternoon  I  caught  a  horse 
which  was  snuffing  at  the  sheaf  oats,  and  had  a 
splendid  gallop  on  the  Longmount  trail  with  the  two 
great  hunting  dogs.  In  returning,  in  the  grimness  of 
the  coming  storm,  I  had  that  view  of  the  Park  which 
I  saw  first  in  the  glories  of  an  autumn  sunset.  Life 
was  all  dead ;  the  dragon-flies  no  longer  darted  in  the 
sunshine,  the  cotton- woods  had  shed  their  last  amber 
leaves,  the  crimson  trailers  of  the  wild  vines  were  bare, 
the  stream  itself  had  ceased  its  tinkle  and  was  numb 
in  fetters  of  ice,  a  few  withered  flower-stalks  only  told 
of  the  brief  bright  glory  of  the  summer.  The  Park 


250  A  LADY  S  LIFE  IS  LETTER  xiv, 

never  had  looked  so  utterly  walled  in ;  it  ^as  fearful 
in  its  loneliness,  the  ghastliest  of  white  peaks  lay 
sharply  outlined  against  the  black  snow-clouds,  the 
bright  river  was  ice-bound,  the  pines  were  all  black, 
the  lawns  of  the  Park  were  deserted  of  living  things, 
the  world  was  absolutely  shut  out.  How  can  you 
expect  me  to  write  letters  from  such  a  place,  from  a 
life  "  in  which  nothing  happens "  ?  It  really  is 
strange  that  neither  Evans  nor  Edwards  come  back. 
The  young  men  are  grumbling,  for  they  were  asked 
to  stay  here  for  five  days,  and  they  have  been  here  five 
weeks,  and  they  are  anxious  to  be  away  camping  out 
for  the  hunting,  on  which  they  depend.  There  are 
two  calves  dying,  and  we  don't  know  what  to  do  for 
them ;  and  if  a  very  severe  snowstorm  comes  on,  we 
can't  bring  in  and  feed  eight  hundred  head  of  cattle. 

Saturday. 

The  snow  began  to  fall  early  this  morning,  and 
as  it  is  unaccompanied  by  wind  we  have  the  novel 
spectacle  of  a  smooth  white  world;  still  it  does 
not  look  like  anything  serious.  We  have  been 
gradually  growing  later  at  night  and  later  in  the 
morning.  To-day  we  did  not  breakfast  till  ten.  We 
have  been  becoming  so  disgusted  with  the  pickled 
pork,  that  we  were  glad  to  find  it  just  at  an  end 
yesterday,  even  though  we  were  left  without  meat. 
for  which  in  this  climate  the  system  craves.  You 


LKTTEBXIV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  251 

can  fancy  my  surprise,  on  going  into  the  kitchen,  to 
find  a  dish  of  smoking  steaks  of  venison  on  the  table 
We  ate  like  famished  people,  and  enjoyed  our  meal 
thoroughly.  Just  before  I  came  the  young  men  had 
shot  an  elk,  which  they  intended  to  sell  in  Denver, 
and  the  grand  carcass,  with  great  branching  antlers, 
hung  outside  the  shed.  Often  while  vainly  trying 
to  swallow  some  pickled  pork  I  had  looked  across  to 
the  tantalising  animal,  but  it  was  not  to  be  thought 
of.  However,  this  morning,  as  the  young  men  felt 
the  pinch  of  hunger  even  more  than  I  did,  and  the 
prospects  of  packing  it  to  Denver  became  worse,  they 
decided  on  cutting  into  one  side,  so  we  shall  luxuriate 
in  venison  while  it  lasts.  We  think  that  Edwarda 
will  surely  be  up  to-night,  but  unless  he  brings  sup- 
plies our  case  is  looking  serious.  The  flour  is  running 
low,  there  is  only  coffee  for  one  week,  and  I  have  only 
a  scanty  three  ounces  of  tea  left.  The  baking-powder 
is  nearly  at  an  end.  We  have  agreed  to  economise 
by  breakfasting  very  late,  and  having  two  meals  a  day 
instead  of  three.  The  young  men  went  out  hunting 
as  usual,  and  I  went  out  and  found  Birdie,  and  on  her, 
brought  in  four  other  horses,  but  the  snow  balled  so 
badly  that  I  went  out  and  walked  across  the  river  on 
a  very  passable  ice  bridge,  and  got  some  new  views 
of  the  unique  grandeur  of  this  place.  Our  evenings 
are  social  and  pleasant.  We  finish  supper  about 
eight,  and  make  up  a  huge  fire.  The  men  smoke- 


252  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xiv 

while  I  write  to  you.  Then  we  draw  near  the  fire, 
and  I  take  my  endless  mending,  and  we  talk  or  read 
aloud.  Both  are  very  intelligent,  and  Mr.  Buchan 
has  very  extended  information  and  a  good  deal  of 
insight  into  character.  Of  course  our  circumstances, 
the  likelihood  of  release,  the  prospects  of  snow  block- 
ing us  in  and  of  our  supplies  holding  out,  the  sick 
calves,  "Jim's"  mood,  the  possible  intentions  of  a 
man  whose  footprints  we  have  found  and  traced  for 
three  miles,  are  all  topics  that  often  recur,  and  few  of 

which  can  be  worn  threadbare.  ,   ,    _. 

1.   L.  Jb>. 


I-KR  xv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  253 


LETTER  XV. 

4  Whisky  Slave— The  Pleasures  of  Monotony— The  Mountain  Lion 
— "  Another  Mouth  to  feed"— A  tiresome  Boy— An  Outcast 
— Thanksgiving  Day — The  Newcomer — A  Literary  Humbug — 
Milking  a  dry  Cow— Trout-fishing — A  Snow-storm — A  Des. 
perado's  din. 

ESTES  PARK,  Sunday. 

A  TRAPPER  passing  last  night  brought  us  the  news 
that  Mr.  Nugent  is  ill;  so,  after  washing  up  the 
things  after  our  late  breakfast,  I  rode  to  his  cabin, 
but  I  met  him  in  the  gulch  coining  down  to  see  us. 
He  said  he  had  caught  cold  on  the  Eange,  and  was 
suffering  from  an  old  arrow  wound  in  the  lung.  We 
had  a  long  conversation  without  adverting  to  the 
former  one,  and  he  told  me  some  of  the  present  cir- 
cumstances of  his  ruined  life.  It  is  piteous  that  a 
man  like  him,  in  the  prime  of  life,  should  be  destitute 
of  home  and  love,  and  live  a  life  of  darkness  in  a  den 
with  no  companions  but  guilty  memories,  and  a  dog 
which  many  people  think  is  the  nobler  animal  of  the 
two.  I  urged  him  to  give  up  the  whisky  which  at 
present  is  his  ruin,  and  his  answer  had  the  ring  of  a 
•ad  truth  in -it :  "I  cannot,  it  binds  me  hand  and  foot 
—I  cannot  give  up  the  only  pleasure  I  have."  His 


254  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xv. 

ideas  of  right  are  the  queerest  possible.  He  says 
that  he  believes  in  God,  but  what  he  knows  or  be- 
lieves of  God's  law  I  know  not.  To  resent  insult 
with  your  revolver,  to  revenge  yourself  on  those  who 
have  injured  you,  to  be  true  to  a  comrade  and  share 
your  last  crust  with  him,  to  be  chivalrous  to  good 
women,  to  be  generous  and  hospitable,  and  at  the  last 
to  die  game — these  are  the  articles  of  his  creed,  and 
I  suppose  they  are  received  by  men  of  his  stamp.  He 
hates  Evans  with  a  bitter  hatred,  and  Evans  returns 
it,  having  undergone  much  provocation  from  Jim  in 
his  moods  of  lawlessness  and  violence,  and  being  not 
a  little  envious  of  the  fascination  which  his  manners 
and  conversation  have  for  the  strangers  who  come  up 
here. 

On  returning  down  the  gulch  the  view  was  grander 
than  I  have  ever  seen  it,  the  gulch  in  dark  shadow, 
the  Park  below  lying  in  intense  sunlight,  with  all  the 
majestic  canyons  which  sweep  down  upon  it  in  depths 
of  infinite  blue  gloom,  and  above,  the  pearly  peaks, 
dazzling  in  purity  and  glorious  in  form,  cleft  the  tur- 
quoise blue  of  the  sky.  How  shall  I  ever  leave  this 
"land  which  is  very  far  off"?  How  can  I  ever  leave 
it  ?  is  the  real  question.  We  are  going  on  the  prin- 
ciple, "  Let  us  eat  and  drink,  for  to-morrow  we  die/' 
and  the  stores  are  melting  away.  The  two  meals  are 
not  an  economical  plan,  for  we  are  so  much  more 
hungry  that  we  eat  more  than  when  we  had  three. 


4ETTEBXV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  255 

We  had  a  good  deal  of  sacred  music  to-day,  to  make 
it  as  like  Sunday  as  possible.  The  "faint  melan- 
choly "  of  this  winter  loneliness  is  very  fascinating. 
How  glorious  the  amber  fires  of  the  winter  dawns  are, 
and  how  gloriously  to-night  the  crimson  clouds  de- 
scended just  to  the  mountain-tops  and  were  reflected 
on  the  pure  surface  of  the  snow !  The  door  of  this 
room  looks  due  north,  and  as  I  write  the  Pole  Star 
blazes,  and  a  cold  crescent  moon  hangs  over  the  ghast- 
liness  of  Long's  Peak. 

ESTES  PARK,  COLORADO,  November. 
We  have  lost  count  of  time,  and  can  only  agree  on 
the  fact  that  the  date  is  somewhere  near  the  end  of  No- 
vember. Our  life  has  settled  down  into  serenity,  and 
our  singular  and  enforced  partnership  is  very  pleasant 
We  might  be  three  men  living  together,  but  for  the 
unvarying  courtesy  and  consideration  which  they  show 
to  me.  Our  work  goes  on  like  clockwork ;  the  only 
difficulty  which  ever  arises  is  that  the  men  do  not 
like  me  to  do  anything  that  they  think  hard  or  un- 
suitable, such  as  saddling  a  horse  or  bringing  in  water. 
The  days  go  very  fast;  it  was  3.30  to-day  before  I 
knew  that  it  was  1.  It  is  a  calm  life  without  worries. 
The  men  are  so  easy  to  live  with ;  they  never  fuss, 
or  grumble,  or  sigh,  or  make  a  trouble  of  anything. 
It  would  amuse  you  to  come  into  our  wretched  little 
kitchen  before  our  disgracefully  late  breakfast,  and 


256  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xv. 

find  Mr.  Kavan  busy  at  the  stove  frying  venison, 
myself  washing  the  supper-dishes,  and  Mr.  Buchan 
drying  them,  or  both  the  men  busy  at  the  stove  while 
I  sweep  the  floor.  Our  food  is  a  great  object  of  in- 
terest to  us,  and  we  are  ravenously  hungry  now  that 
we  have  only  two  meals  a  day.  About  sundown  each 
goes  forth  to  his  "  chores  " — Mr.  K.  to  chop  wood,  Mr. 
B.  to  haul  water,  I  to  wash  the  milk -pans  and  water 
the  horses.  On  Saturday  the  men  shot  a  deer,  and 
on  going  for  it  to-day  they  found  nothing  but  the 
hind  legs,  and  following  a  track  which  they  expected 
would  lead  them  to  a  beast's  hole,  they  came  quite 
carelessly  upon  a  large  mountain  lion,  which,  how- 
ever, took  itself  out  of  their  reach  before  they  were 
sufficiently  recovered  from  their  surprise  to  fire  at  it. 
These  lions,  which  are  really  a  species  of  puma,  are 
bloodthirsty  as  well  as  cowardly.  Lately  one  got 
into  a  sheepfold  in  the  canyon  of  the  St.  Vrain,  and 
killed  thirty  sheep,  sucking  the  blood  from  their 
throats. 

November  ? 

This  has  been  a  day  of  minor  events,  as  well  as 
a  busy  one.  I  was  so  busy  that  I  never  sat  down 
from  10.30  till  1.30.  I  had  washed  my  one  change 
of  raiment,  and  though  I  never  iron  my  clothes, 
I  like  to  bleach  them  till  they  are  as  white  as  snow, 
and  they  were  whitening  on  the  line  when  some 
furious  gusts  came  down  from  Long's  Peak,  against 


i*rrEB  xv.  THE  KOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  257 

which  I  could  not  stand,  and  when  I  did  get  out  all 
my  clothes  were  blown  into  strips  from  an  inch  to 
four  inches  in  width,  literally  destroyed !  One  learns 
how  very  little  is  necessary  either  for  comfort  or 
happiness.  I  made  a  four-pound  spiced  ginger  cake, 
baked  some  bread,  mended  my  riding  dress,  cleaned 
up  generally,  wrote  some  letters  with  the  hope  that 
some  day  they  might  be  posted,  and  took  a  magnifi- 
cent walk,  reaching  the  cabin  again  in  che  melancholy 
glory  which  now  immediately  precedes  the  darkness. 
We  were  all  busy  getting  our  supper  ready  when  the 
dogs  began  to  bark  furiously,  and  we  heard  the  noise 
of  horses.  "  Evans  at  last !"  we  exclaimed,  but  we 
were  wrong.  Mr.  Kavan  went  out,  and  returned 
saying  that  it  was  a  young  man  who  had  come  up 
with  Evans's  waggon  and  team,  and  that  the  waggon 
had  gone  over  into  a  gulch  seven  miles  from  here. 
Mr.  Kavan  looked  very  grave.  "  It's  another  mouth 
to  feed,"  he  said.  They  asked  no  questions,  and 
brought  the  lad  in,  a  slangy,  assured  fellow  of  twenty, 
who,  having  fallen  into  delicate  health  at  a  theolo- 
gical college,  had  been  sent  up  here  by  Evans  to  work 
for  his  board.  The  men  were  too  courteous  to  ask 
him  what  he  was  doing  up  here,  but  I  boldly  asked 
him  where  he  lived,  and  to  our  dismay  he  replied, 
"  I've  come  to  live  here."  So  we  had  to  settle  what 
to  do  with  him.  We  discussed  the  food  question 
gravely,  as  it  presented  a  real  difficulty.  We  put 


-258  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LMTEB  xv. 

him  into  a  bed-closet  opening  from  the  kitchen,  and 
decided  to  see  what  he  was  fit  for  before  giving  him 
work.  We  were  very  much  amazed,  in  truth,  at  his 
coming  here.  He  is  evidently  a  shallow,  arrogant 
youth. 

We  have  decided  that  to-day  is  November  26th; 
to-morrow  is  Thanksgiving  Day,  and  we  are  planning 
a  feast,  though  Mr.  K.  said  to  me  again  this  morning, 
with  a  doleful  face,  "  You  see  there's  another  mouth 
to  feed."  This  "  mouth "  has  come  up  to  try  the 
panacea  of  manual  labour,  but  he  is  town-bred,  and 
I  see  that  he  will  do  nothing.  He  is  writing  poetry, 
and  while  I  was  busy  to-day  began  to  read  it  aloud 
to  me,  asking  for  my  criticism.  He  is  just  at  the 
age  when  everything  literary  has  a  fascination,  and 
«very  literary  person  is  a  hero,  specially  Dr.  Holland. 
Last  night  was  fearful  from  the  lifting  of  the  cabin 
and  the  breaking  of  the  mud  from  the  roof.  We  sat 
with  fine  gravel  driving  in  our  faces,  and  this  morn- 
ing I  carried  four  shovelfuls  of  mud  out  of  my  room. 
After  breakfast,  Mr.  Kavan,  Mr.  Lyman,  and  I,  with 
the  two  waggon-horses,  rode  the  seven  miles  to  the 
scene  of  yesterday's  disaster  in  a  perfect  gale  of 
wind.  I  felt  like  a  servant  going  out  for  a  day's 
"  pleasuring,"  hurrying  "  through  my  dishes,"  and 
leaving  my  room  in  disorder.  The  waggon  lay  half- 
way down  the  side  of  a  ravine,  kept  from  destruction 
by  having  caught  on  some  trees.  It  was  too  cold  to 


A«TT«BXV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  259 

hang  about  while  the  men  hauled  it  up  and  fixed  it, 
so  I  went  slowly  back,  encountering  Mr.  Nugent  in  a 
most  bitter  mood — almost  in  an  "  ugly  fit " — hating 
everybody,  and  contrasting  his  own  generosity  and 
reckless  kindness  with  the  selfishness  and  carefully- 
weighed  kindnesses  of  others.  People  do  give  him 
credit  for  having  "as  kind  a  heart  as  ever  beat." 
Lately  a  child  in  the  other  cabin  was  taken  ill,  and 
though  there  were  idle  men  and  horses  at  hand,  it 
was  only  the  "  desperado"  who  rode  sixty  miles  in 
"  the  shortest  time  ever  made "  to  bring  the  doctor. 
While  we  were  talking  he  was  sitting  on  a  stone  out- 
side his  den  mending  a  saddle,  skins,  bones,  and 
skulls  lying  about  him,  "  King  "  watching  him  with 
jealous  and  idolatrous  affection,  the  wind  lifting  his 
thin  curls  from  as  grand  a  head  as  was.  ever  modelled 
— a  ruin  of  a  man.  Yet  the  sun  which  shines  "  on 
the  evil  and  the  good  "  was  lighting  up  the  gold  of  his 
hair.  May  our  Father  which  is  in  heaven  yet  show 
mercy  to  His  outcast  child! 

Mr.  Kavan  soon  overtook  me,  and  we  had  an 
exciting  race  of  two  miles,  getting  home  just  before 
the  wind  fell  and  the  snow  began. 

Thanksgiving  Day.  The  thing  dreaded  has  come 
at  last,  a  snowstorm,  with  a  north-east  wind.  It 
ceased  about  midnight,  but  not  till  it  had  covered  my 
bed.  Then  the  mercury  fell  below  zero,  and  every- 
thing froze.  I  melted  a  tin  of  water  for  washing  by 


260  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LBTTEEXT 

the  fire,  but  it  was  hard  frozen  before  I  could  use  it 
My  hair,  which  was  thoroughly  wet  with  the  thawed 
snow  of  yesterday,  is  hard  frozen  in  plaits.  The 
milk  and  treacle  are  like  rock,  the  eggs  have  to  be 
kept  on  the  coolest  part  of  the  stove  to  keep  them 
fluid.  Two  calves  in  the  shed  were  frozen  to  death. 
Half  our  floor  is  deep  in  snow,  and  it  is  so  cold  that 
we  cannot  open  the  door  to  shovel  it  out.  The  snow 
began  again  at  eight  this  morning,  very  fine  and  hard. 
It  blows  in  through  the  chinks  and  dusts  this  letter 
while  I  write.  Mr.  Kavan  keeps  my  ink-bottle  close 
to  the  fire,  and  hands  it  to  me  every  time  that  I  need 
to  dip  my  pen.  We  have  a  huge  fire,  but  cannot 
raise  the  temperature  above  20°.  Ever  since  I 
returned  the  lake  has  been  hard  enough  to  bear  a 
waggon,  but  to-day  it  is  difficult  to  keep  the  water- 
hole  open  by  the  constant  use  of  the  axe.  The  snow 
may  either  melt  or  block  us  in.  Our  only  anxiety 
is  about  the  supplies.  We  have  tea  and  coffee  enough 
to  last  over  to-morrow,  the  sugar  is  just  done,  and  the 
flour  is  getting  low.  It  is  really  serious  that  we  have 
"  another  mouth  to  feed,"  and  the  nt w-comer  is  a 
ravenous  creature,  eating  more  than  the  three  of  us. 
It  dismays  me  to  see  his  hungry  eyes  gauging  the 
supply  at  breakfast,  and  to  see  the  loaf  disappear. 
He  told  me  this  morning  that  he  could  eat  the  whole 
of  what  was  on  the  table.  He  is  mad  after  food,  and 
I  see  that  Mr.  K.  is  starving  himself  to  make  it  hold 


LETTER  xv.  -  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  261 

out.  Mr.  Buchan  is  very  far  from  well,  and  dreads 
the  prospect  of  "  half  rations."  All  this  sounds 
laughable,  but  we  shall  not  laugh  if  we  have  to  look 
hunger  in  the  face !  Now  in  the  evening  the  snow- 
clouds,  which  have  blotted  out  all  things,  are  lifting, 
and  the  winter  scene  is  wonderful.  The  mercury  is 
5°  below  zero,  and  the  aurora  is  glorious.  In  my 
unchinked  room  the  mercury  is  1°  below  zero.  Mr. 
Buchan  can  hardly  get  his  breath;  the  dryness  is 
intense.  We  spent  the  afternoon  cooking  the  Thanks- 
giving dinner.  I  made  a  wonderful  pudding,  for 
which  I  had  saved  eggs  and  cream  for  days,  and  dried 
and  stoned  cherries  supplied  the  place  of  currants. 
I  made  a  bowl  of  custard  for  sauce,  which  the  men 
said  was  "  splendid  ;"  also  a  rolled  pudding,  with 
molasses ;  and  we  had  venison  steaks  and  potatoes, 
but  for  tea  we  were  obliged  to  use  the  tea-leaves  of 
the  morning  again.  I  should  think  that  few  people 
in  America  have  enjoyed  their  Thanksgiving  dinner 
more.  We  had  urged  Mr.  Nugent  to  join  us,  but  he 
refused,  almost  savagely,  which  we  regretted.  My 
four-pound  cake  made  yesterday  is  all  gone !  This 
wretched  boy  confesses  that  he  was  so  hungry  in  the 
night  that  he  got  up  and  ate  nearly  half  of  it.  He  ia 
trying  to  cajole  me  into  making  another. 

November  £9. 
Before  the  boy  came  I  had  mistaken  SOTTIP  fa<led 


262  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LBTTM  XT. 

cayenne  pepper  for  ginger,  and  had  made  a  cake 
with  it.  Last  evening  I  put  half  of  it  into  the 
cupboard  and  left  the  door  open.  During  the  night 
we  heard  a  commotion  in  the  kitchen  and  much 
choking,  coughing,  and  groaning,  and  at  break- 
fast the  boy  was  unable  to  swallow  food  with  his 
usual  ravenousness.  After  breakfast  he  came  to  me 
whimpering,  and  asking  for  something  soothing  for 
his  throat,  admitting  that  he  had  seen  the  "  ginger- 
bread," and  "  felt  so  starved "  in  the  night  that  he 
got  up  to  eat  it.  I  tried  to  make  him  feel  that  it  was 
"  real  mean  "  to  eat  so  much  and  be  so  useless,  and  he 
said  he  would  do  anything  to  help  me,  but  the  men 
were  so  "  down  on  him."  I  never  saw  men  so  patient 
with  a  lad  before.  He  is  a  most  vexing  addition  to 
our  party,  yet  one  cannot  help  laughing  at  him.  He 
is  not  honourable,  though.  I  dare  not  leave  this 
letter  lying  on  the  table,  as  he  would  read  it.  He 
writes  for  two  Western  periodicals  (at  least  he  says 
so),  and  he  shows  us  long  pieces  of  his  published 
poetry.  In  one  there  are  twenty  lines  copied  (as  Mr. 
Kavan  has  shown  me)  witlwut  alteration  from  Para- 
dise Lost;  in  another  there  are  two  stanzas  from 
Resignation,  with  only  the  alteration  of  "  stray  "  for 
v  dead ;"  and  he  has  passed  the  whole  of  Bonar's 
Meeting-place  off  as  his  own.  Again,  he  lent  me  an 
essay  by  himself,  : ailed  The  Function  of  tlie  Novelist, 
which  is  nothing  but  a  mosaic  of  unacknowledged 


LKTEBXV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  263 

quotations.  The  men  tell  me  that  he  has  "  bragged" 
to  them  that  on  his  way  here  he  took  shelter  in  Mr. 
Nugent's  cabin,  found  out  where  he  hides  his  key, 
opened  his  box,  and  read  his  letters  and  MSS.  He 
is  a  perfect  plague  with  his  ignorance  and  self- 
sufficiency.  The  first  day  after  he  came  while  I  was 
washing  up  the  breakfast-things  he  told  me  that  he 
intended  to  do  all  the  dirty  work,  so  I  left  the  knives 
and  forks  in  the  tub  and  asked  him  to  wipe  and  lay 
them  aside.  Two  hours  afterwards  I  found  them  un- 
touched. Again  the  men  went  out  hunting,  and  he 
said  he  would  chop  the  wood  for  several  days'  use, 
and  after  a  few  strokes,  which  were  only  successful 
in  chipping  off  some  shavings,  he  caine  in  and 
drummed  on  the  harmonium,  leaving  me  without  any 
.rood  with  which  to  make  the  fire  for  supper.  He 
talked  about  his  skill  with  the  lasso,  but  could  not 
even  catch  one  of  our  quietest  horses.  Worse  than 
all,  he  does  not  know  one  cow  from  another.  Two 
days  ago  he  lost  our  milch  cow  in  driving  her  in  to 
be  milked,  and  Mr.  Kavan  lost  hours  of  valuable  time 
in  hunting  for  her  without  success.  To-day  he  told 
as  triumphantly  that  he  had  found  her,  and  he  was 
sent  out  to  milk  her.  After  two  hours  he  returned 
with  a  rueful  face  and  a  few  drops  of  whitish  fluid  in 
the  milk-pail,  saying  that  that  was  all  he  could  get. 
On  Mr.  K.  going  out,  he  found,  instead  of  our  "  calico  * 
cow,  a  brindled  one  that  had  been  dry  since  the 


264  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  TY 

spring !  Our  cow  has  gone  off  to  the  wild  cattle,  and 
we  are  looking  very  grim  at  Lyman,  who  says  that 
he  expected  he  should  live  on  milk.  I  told  him  to 
fill  up  the  four-gallon  kettle,  and  an  hour  afterwards 
found  it  red-hot  on  the  stove.  Nothing  can  be  kept 
from  him  unless  it  is  hidden  in  my  room.  He  has 
eaten  two  pounds  of  dried  cherries  from  the  shelf, 
half  of  my  second  four-pound  spiced  loaf  before  it 
was  cold,  licked  up  my  custard  sauce  in  the  night, 
and  privately  devoured  the  pudding  which  was  to  be 
for  supper.  He  confesses  to  it  all,  and  says,  "  I  sup- 
pose you  think  me  a  cure."  Mr.  K.  says  that  the 
first  thing  he  said  to  him  this  morning  was,  "  Will 
Miss  B.  make  us  a  nice  pudding  to-day  ?"  This  is 
all  harmless,  but  the  plagiarism  and  want  of  honour 
are  disgusting,  and  quite  out  of  keeping  with  his 
profession  of  being  a  theological  student. 

This  life  is  in  some  respects  like  being  on  board 
ship — there  are  no  mails,  and  one  knows  nothing 
beyond  one's  little  world,  a  very  little  one  in  this 
case.  We  find  each  other  true,  and  have  learnt  to 
esteem  and  trust  each  other.  I  should,  for  instance,  go 
out  of  this  room  leaving  this  book  open  on  the  table, 
knowing  that  the  men  would  not  read  my  letter, 
They  are  discreet,  reticent,  observant,  and  on  many 
subjects  well-informed,  but  they  are  of  a  type  which 
has  no  antitype  at  home.  All  women  work  in  thif 
region,  so  there  is  no  fuss  about  my  working,  or  say- 


.  THE  EOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  265 

ing,  "  Oh,  you  mustn't  do  that,"  or  "  Oh,  let  me  do 

that." 

November  SO. 

We  sat  up  till  eleven  last  night,  so  confident 
were  we  that  Edwards  would  leave  Denver  the 
day  after  Thanksgiving  and  get  up  here.  This 
morning  we  came  to  the  resolution  that  we  must 
break  up.  Tea,  coffee,  and  sugar  are  done,  the  veni- 
eon  is  turning  sour,  and  the  men  have  only  one  month 
left  for  the  hunting  on  which  their  winter  living 
depends.  I  cannot  leave  the  Territory  till  I  get 
money,  but  I  can  go  to  Longmount  for  the  mail  and 
hear  whether  the  panic  is  abating.  Yesterday  I  was 
alone  all  day,  and  after  riding  to  the  base  of  Long's 
Peak,  made  two  roly-poly  puddings  for  supper,  having 
nothing  else.  The  men,  however,  came  back  per- 
fectly loaded  with  trout,  and  we  had  a  feast.  Epicures 
at  home  would  have  envied  us.  Mr.  Kavan  kept  the 
frying-pan  with  boiling  butter  on  the  stove,  butter 
enough  thoroughly  to  cover  the  trout,  rolled  them  in 
coarse  corn -meal,  plunged  them  into  the  butter, 
turned  them  once,  and  took  them  out,  thoroughly 
done,  fizzing,  and  lemon-coloured.  For  once  young 
Lyman  was  satisfied,  for  the  dish  was  replenished  as 
often  as  it  was  emptied.  They  caught  40  Ibs.,  and 
have  packed  them  in  ice  until  they  can  be  sent  to 
Denver  for  sale.  The  winter  fislting  is  very  rich. 
In  the  hardest  frost,  men  who  fish  not  for  sport,  but 


266  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XT, 

gain,  take  their  axes  and  camping  blankets,  and  go 
up  to  the  hard-frozen  waters  which  lie  in  fifty  places 
round  the  Park,  and  choosing  a  likely  spot,  a  little 
sheltered  from  the  wind,  hack  a  hole  in  the  ice,  and 
fastening  a  foot-link  to  a  cotton-wood-tree,  bait  the 
hook  with  maggots  or  bits  of  easily-gotten  fresh  meat. 
Often  the  trout  are  caught  as  fast  as  the  hook  can  be 
baited,  and  looking  through  the  ice-hole  in  the  track 
of  a  sunbeam,  you  see  a  mass  of  tails,  silver  fins, 
bright  eyes,  and  crimson  spots,  a  perfect  shoal  of  fish, 
and  truly  beautiful  the  crimson -spotted  creatures 
look,  lying  still  and  dead  on  the  blue  ice  under  the 
sunshine.  Sometimes  two  men  bring  home  60  Ibs. 
of  trout  as  the  result  of  one  day's  winter  fishing.  It 
is  a  cold  and  silent  sport,  however.  How  a  cook  at 
home  would  despise  our  scanty  appliances,  with  which 
we  turn  out  luxuries.  "We  have  only  a  cooking- 
stove,  which  requires  incessant  feeding  with  wood,  a 
kettle,  a  frying-pan,  a  six-gallon  brass  pan,  and  a 
bottle  for  a  rolling-pin.  The  cold  has  been  very 
severe,  but  I  do  not  suffer  from  it  even  in  my 
insufficient  clothing.  I  take  a  piece  of  granite  made 
very  hot  to  bed,  draw  the  blankets  over  my  head 
and  sleep  eight  hours,  though  the  snow  often  covers 
me.  One  day  of  snow,  mist,  and  darkness  was  rather 
depressing,  and  yesterday  a  hurricane  began  about 
five  in  the  morning,  and  the  whole  Park  was  one 
Bwirl  of  drifting  snow,  like  stinging  wood  sin  oka 


LETTER  xv.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  267 

My  bed  and  room  were  white,  and  the  frost  was  so 
intense  that  water  brought  in  a  kettle  hot  from  the 
fire  froze  as  I  poured  it  into  the  basin.  Then  the 
snow  ceased,  and  a  fierce  wind  blew  most  of  it  out  of 
the  Park,  lifting  it  from  the  mountains  in  such  clouds 
as  to  make  Long's  Peak  look  like  a  smoking  volcano. 
To-day  the  sky  has  resumed  its  delicious  blue,  and 
the  Park  its  unrivalled  beauty.  I  have  cleaned  all 
the  windows,  which,  ever  since  I  have  been  here,  I 
supposed  were  of  discoloured  glass,  so  opaque  and 
dirty  they  were ;  and  when  the  men  came  home  from 
fishing  they  found  a  cheerful  new  world.  We  had  a 
great  deal  of  sacred  music  and  singing  on  Sunday. 
Mr.  Buchan  asked  me  if  I  knew  a  tune  called 
"  America,"  and  began  the  grand  roll  of  our  National 
Anthem  to  the  words : 

u  My  country,  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty,"  eta 

December  1. 

I  was  to  have  started  for  Canyon  to-day,  but 
was  awoke  by  snow  as  stinging  as  pinpoints  beat- 
ing on  my  hand.  We  all  got  up  early,  but  it 
did  not  improve  until  nearly  noon.  In  the  after- 
noon Lyman  and  I  rode  to  Mr.  Nugent's  cabin. 
I  wanted  him  to  read  and  correct  my  letter  to  you, 
giving  the  account  of  our  ascent  of  Long's  Peak,  but 
he  said  he  could  not,  and  insisted  on  our  going  in. 


268  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xv. 

for  which  young  Lyman  was  more  anxious  than  I 
was,  as  Mr.  Kavan  had  seen  "  Jim  "  in  the  morning, 
and  departed  from  his  usual  reticence  so  far  as  to  say, 
"  Thera's  something  wrong  with  that  man ;  he'll  either 
shoot  himself  or  somebody  else."  However,  the 
"  ugly  fit "  had  passed  off,  and  he  was  so  very 
pleasant  and  courteous  that  we  remained  the  whole 
afternoon.  Lyman's  one  thought  was  that  he  could 
make  capital  out  of  the  interview,  and  write  an 
account  of  the  celebrated  desperado  for  a  Western 
paper.  The  interior  of  the  den  was  frightful,  yet 
among  his  black  and  hideous  surroundings  the  grace 
of  his  manner  and  the  genius  of  his  conversation 
were  only  more  apparent.  I  read  my  letter  aloud 
— or  rather  "  The  Ascent  of  Long's  Peak,"  which  I 
have  written  for  Out  West — and  was  sincerely  in- 
terested with  the  taste  and  acumen  of  his  criticisms 
on  the  style.  He  is  a  true  child  of  nature ;  his  eye 
brightened  and  his  whole  face  became  radiant,  and 
at  last  tears  rolled  down  his  cheek  when  I  read  the 
account  of  the  glory  of  the  sunrise.  Then  he  read  us 
a  very  able  paper  on  Spiritualism  which  he  was 
writing  The  den  was  dense  with  smoke,  and  very 
dark,  littered  with  hay,  old  blankets,  skins,  bones, 
tins,  logs,  powder-flasks,  magazines,  old  books,  old 
moccasins,  horseshoes,  and  relics  of  all  kinds.  He 
had  no  better  seat  to  offer  me  than  a  log,  but  offered 
it  with  a  graceful  unconsciousness  that  it  was  any- 


liTTEBXV.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  269 

thing  less  luxurious  than  an  easy-chair.  Two  valu- 
able rifles  and  a  Sharp's  revolver  hung  on  the  wall, 
and  the  sash  and  badge  of  a  scout.  I  could  not  help 
looking  at  "Jim"  as  he  stood  talking  to  me.  He 
;goes  mad  with  drink  at  times,  swears  fearfully,  has 
an  ungovernable  temper.  He  has  formerly  led  a 
desperate  life,  and  is  at  times  even  now  undoubtedly 
a  ruffian.  There  is  hardly  a  fireside  in  Colorado 
where  fearful  stories  of  him  as  an  Indian  fighter  are 
not  told ;  mothers  frighten  their  naughty  children  by 
telling  them  that  "  Mountain  Jim "  will  get  them, 
.and  doubtless  his  faults  are  glaring,  but  he  is  un- 
doubtedly fascinating,  and  enjoys  a  popularity  or 
notoriety  which  no  other  person  has.  He  offered  to 
be  my  guide  to  the  plains  when  I  go  away.  Lyman 
asked  me  if  I  should  not  be  afraid  of  being  murdered, 
but  one  could  not  be  safer  than  with  him  I  have  often 
been  told. 

The  cold  was  truly  awfuL  I  had  caught  a  chill 
in  the  morning  from  putting  on  my  clothes  before 
they  were  dry  and  the  warmth  of  the  smoky  den 
was  most  agreeable  ;  but  we  had  a  fearful  ride  back 
in  the  dusk,  a  gale  nearly  blowing  us  off  our  horses, 
drifting  snow  nearly  blinding  us,  and  the  mercury 
below  zero.  I  felt  as  if  I  were  going  to  be  laid  up 
with  a  severe  cold,  but  the  men  suggested  a  trapper's 
remedy — a  tumbler  of  hot  water,  with  a  pinch  of 
cayenne  pepper  in  it — which  proved  a  very  rapid 


270  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER*? 

cure.  They  kindly  say  that  if  the  snow  detains  me 
here  they  also  will  remain.  They  tell  me  that  they 
were  horrified  when  I  arrived,  as  they  thought  that 
they  could  not  make  me  comfortable,  and  that  I  hail 
never  been  used  to  do  anything  for  myself,  and  then 
we  complimented  each  other  all  round.  To-morrow, 
weather  permitting,  I  set  off  for  a  ride  of  100  miles, 
and  my  next  letter  will  be  my  last  from  the  Eocky 
Mountain*. 


urn-Eii  xvi.  THE  BOCKY  MOUNTAINS.  271 


LETTER  XVL 

A  Harmonious  Home — Intense  Cold — A  Purple  Sun — A  Grim  Jest 
— A  Perilous  Ride — Frozen  Eyelids — Long  Mount — The  Path- 
leas  Prairie— Hardships  of  Emigrant  Life — A  Trapper's  Adric« 
The  Little  Thompson — Evans  and  Jim. 

DR.  HUGHES'S,  LOWER  CANYON,  COLORADO,  Dec.  4. 
ONCE  again  here,  in  refined  and  cultured  society,  with 
harmonious  voices  about  me,  and  dear  sweet,  loving 
children  whose  winning  ways  make  this  cahin  a  true 
English  home.  "  England,  with  all  thy  faults,  I  love 
thee  still !"  I  can  truly  say, 

"  Where'er  I  roam,  whatever  realms  I  see. 
My  heart,  untravelled,  fondly  turns  to  thee." 

If  it  swerved  a  little  in  the  Sandwich  Islands,  it  is 
true  to  the  Pole  now!  Surely  one  advantage  of 
travelling  is  that,  while  it  removes  much  prejudice 
against  foreigners  and  their  customs,  it  intensifies 
tenfold  one's  appreciation  of  the  good  at  home,  and, 
above  all,  of  the  quietness  and  purity  of  English 
domestic  life.  These  reflections  are  forced  upon  me 
by  the  sweet  child -voices  about  me,  and  by  the 
exquisite  consideration  and  tenderness  which  are  the 


272  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTEBXVI 

atmosphere  (some  would  call  it  the  hothouse  atmo- 
sphere) of  this  house.  But  with  the  bare,  hard  life, 
and  the  bare,  bleak  mountains  around,  who  could 
find  fault  with  even  a  hothouse  atmosphere,  if  it  can 
nourish  such  a  flower  of  Paradise  as  sacred  human 
love? 

The  mercury  is  eleven  degrees  below  zero,  and  I 
have  to  keep  my  ink  on  the  stove  to  prevent  it  from 
freezing.  The  cold  is  intense  —  a  clear,  brilliant, 
stimulating  cold,  so  dry  that  even  in  my  threadbare 
flannel  riding-dress  I  do  not  suffer  from  it.  I  must 
now  take  up  my  narrative  of  the  nothings  which 
have  all  the  interest  of  somethings  to  me.  We  all  get- 
up  before  daybreak  on  Tuesday,  and  breakfasted  at 
seven.  I  have  not  seen  the  dawn  for  some  time,, 
with  its  amber  fires  deepening  into  red,  and  the  snow 
peaks  flushing  one  by  one,  and  it  seemed  a  new 
miracle.  It  was  a  west  wind,  and  we  all  thought  it 
promised  welL  I  took  only  two  pounds  of  luggage^ 
some  raisins,  the  mail  bag,  and  an  additional  blanket 
under  my  saddle.  I  had  not  been  up  from  the  Park 
at  sunrise  before,  and  it  was  quite  glorious,  the 
purple  depths  of  M'Ginn's  Gulch,  from  which  at  a 
height  of  9000  feet  you  look  down  on  the  sunlit 
Park  1500  feet  below,  lying  in  a  red  haze,  with  its 
pearly  needle-shaped  peaks,  framed  by  mountain- 
sides dark  with  pines — my  glorious,  solitary,  unique 
mountain  home !  The  purple  sun  rose  in  front.  Had 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  275 

I  known  what  made  it  purple  I  should  certainly 
have  gone  no  farther.  Then  clouds,  the  morning  mist 
as  I  supposed,  lifted  themselves  up  rose-lighted, 
showing  the  sun's  disc  as  purple  as  one  of  the  jars 
in  a  chemist's  window,  and  having  permitted  this 
glimpse  of  their  king,  came  down  again  as  a  dense 
mist,  the  wind  chopped  round,  and  the  mist  began 
to  freeze  hard.  Soon  Birdie  and  myself  were  a  mass 
of  acicular  crystals;  it  was  a  true  easterly  fog.  I 
galloped  on,  hoping  to  get  through  it,  unable  to  see 
a  yard  before  me ;  but  it  thickened,  and  I  was 
obliged  to  subside  into  a  jog-trot.  As  I  rode  on, 
about  four  miles  from  the  cabin,  a  human  figure, 
looking  gigantic  like  the  spectre  of  the  Brocken, 
with  long  hair  white  as  snow,  appeared  close  to  me, 
and  at  the  same  moment  there  was  the  flash  of  a 
pistol  close  to  my  ear,  and  I  recognised  "  Mountain 
Jim  "  frozen  from  head  to  foot,  looking  a  century  old 
with  his  snowy  hair.  It  was  "ugly"  altogether 
certainly,  a  "  desperado's  "  grim  jest,  and  it  was  best 
to  accept  it  as  such,  though  I  had  just  cause  for 
displeasure.  He  stormed  and  scolded,  dragged  me 
off  the  pony — for  my  hands  and  feet  were  numb 
with  cold — took  the  bridle,  and  went  off  at  a  rapid 
stride,  so  that  I  had  to  run  to  keep  them  in  sight  in 
the  darkness,  for  we  were  off  the  road  in  a  thicket  of 
scrub,  looking  like  white  branch-coral,  I  knew  not 
where.  Then  we  came  suddenly  on  his  cabin  and- 

T 


274  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XYI. 

dear  old  "  Ring,"  white  like  all  else ;  and  the  "  ruffian  " 
insisted  on  my  going  in,  and  he  made  a  good  fire, 
and  heated  some  coffee,  raging  all  the  time.  He 
said  everything  against  my  going  forward,  except 
that  it  was  dangerous ;  all  he  said  came  true,  and 
here  I  am  safe !  Your  letters,  however,  outweighed 
everything  but  danger,  and  I  decided  on  going  on, 
when  he  said,  "  I've  seen  many  foolish  people,  but 
never  one  so  foolish  as  you — you  haven't  a  grain  of 
sense.  Why,  I,  an  old  mountaineer,  wouldn't  go 
down  to  the  plains  to-day."  I  told  him  he  could 
not,  though  he  would  like  it  very  much,  for  that  he 
had  turned  his  horses  loose ;  on  which  he  laughed 
heartily,  and  more  heartily  still  at  the  stories  I  told 
him  of  young  Lyman,  so  that  I  have  still  a  doubt 
how  much  of  the  dark  moods  I  have  lately  seen  was 
assumed. 

He  took  me  back  to  the  track ;  and  the  interview 
which  began  with  a  pistol-shot,  ended  quite  pleasantly. 
It  was  an  eerie  ride,  one  not  to  be  forgotten,  though 
there  was  no  danger.  I  could  not  recognise  any 
localities.  Every  tree  was  silvered,  and  the  fir-tree 
tufts  of  needles  looked  like  white  chrysanthemums. 
The  snow  lay  a  foot  deep  in  the  gulches,  with  its 
hard,  smooth  surface  marked  by  the  feet  of  innu- 
merable birds  and  beasts.  Ice  bridges  had  formed 
across  all  the  streams,  and  I  crossed  them  without 
knowing  when.  Gulches  looked  fathomless  abysses, 


«BiTEBxn.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  275 

with  clouds,  boiling  up  out  of  them,  and  shaggy 
mountain  summits,  half  seen  for  a  moment  through 
the  eddies,  as  quickly  vanished.  Everything  looked 
vast  and  indefinite.  Then  a  huge  creation,  like  one 
of  Dore's  phantom  illustrations,  with  much  breathing 
of  wings,  came  sailing  towards  me  in  a  temporary 
opening  in  the  mist.  As  with  a  strange  rustle  it 
passed  close  over  my  head,  I  saw,  for  the  first  time, 
the  great  mountain  eagle,  carrying  a  good-sized  beast 
in  his  talons.  It  was  a  noble  vision.  Then  there 
were  ten  miles  of  metamorphosed  gulches — silent, 
awful — many  ice  bridges,  then  a  frozen  drizzle,  and 
then  the  wind  changed  from  east  to  north-east. 
Birdie  was  covered  with  exquisite  crystals,  and  hei 
long  mane  and  the  long  beard  which  covers  her 
throat  were  pure  white.  I  saw  that  I  must  give  up 
crossing  the  mountains  to  this  place  by  an  unknown 
trail;  and  I  struck  the  old  trail  to  the  St.  Vrain, 
which  I  had  never  travelled  before,  but  which  I 
knew  to  be  more  legible  than  the  new  one.  The  fog 
grew  darker  and  thicker,  the  day  colder  and  windier, 
the  drifts  deeper ;  but  Birdie,  whose  four  "cunning  feet 
had  carried  me  600  miles,  and  wHo  in  all  difficulties 
proves  her  value,  never  flinched  or  made  a  false  step, 
or  gave  me  reason  to  be  sorry  that  I  had  come  on. 
I  got  down  to  the  St.  Vrain  Canyon  in  good  time, 
and  stopped  at  a  house  thirteen  miles  from  Long- 
mount  to  get  oats.  I  was  white  from  head  to  foot* 


276  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LEFTER  XVL 

and  my  clothes  were  frozen  stiff.  The  women  gave 
me  the  usual  invitation,  "  Put  your  feet  in  the  oven ;" 
and  I  got  my  clothes  thawed  and  dried,  and  a 
delicious  meal  consisting  of  a  basin  of  cream  and 
bread.  They  said  it  would  be  worse  on  the  plains, 
for  it  was  an  easterly  storm ;  but  as  I  was  so  used  to 
riding,  I  could  get  on,  so  we  started  at  2.30.  Not 
far  off  I  met  Edwards  going  up  at  last  to  Estes  Park, 
and  soon  after  the  snowstorm  began  in  earnest — or 
rather  I  entered  the  storm,  which  had  been  going  on 
there  for  several  hours.  By  that  time  I  had  reached 
the  prairie,  only  eight  miles  from  Longrnount,  and 
pushed  on.  It  was  simply  fearful.  It  was  twilight 
from  the  thick  snow,  and  I  faced  a  furious  east  wind 
loaded  with  fine,  hard-frozen  crystals,  which  literally 
made  my  face  bleed.  I  could  only  see  a  very  short 
distance  anywhere;  the  drifts  were  often  two  feet 
deep,  and  only  now  and  then,  through  the  blinding 
whirl,  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  snow  through  which 
withered  sunflowers  did  not  protrude,  and  then  I 
knew  that  I  was  on  the  track.  But  reaching  a  wild 
place,  I  lost  it,  and  still  cantered  on,  trusting  to  the 
pony's  sagacity.  It  failed  for  once,  for  she  took  me 
on  a  lake  and  we  fell  through  the  ice  into  the  water, 
100  yards  from  land,  and  had  a  hard  fight  back  again. 
It  grew  worse  and  worse.  I  had  wrapped  up  my 
fece,  but  the  sharp,  hard  snow  beat  on  my  eyes — the 
only  exposed  part — bringing  tears  into  them,  which 


LE1TEKXV1  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  277 

froze  and  closed  up  my  eyelids  at  once.  You  cannot 
imagine  what  that  was.  I  had  to  take  off  one  glove 
to  pick  one  eye  open,  for  as  to  the  other,  the  storm 
beat  so  savagely  against  it  that  I  left  it  frozen,  and 
drew  over  it  the  double  piece  of  flannel  which  pro- 
tected my  face.  I  could  hardly  keep  the  other  open 
by  picking  the  ice  from  it  constantly  with  my  numb 
fingers,  in  doing  which  I  got  the  back  of  my  hand 
slightly  frostbitten.  It  was  truly  awful  at  the  time. 
I  often  thought,  "  Suppose  I  am  going  south  instead 
of  east?  Suppose  Birdie  should  fail?  Suppose  it 
should  grow  quite  dark  ?"  I  was  mountaineer  enough 
to  shake  these  fears  off  and  keep  up  my  spirits,  but 
I  knew  how  many  had  perished  on  the  prairie  in 
similar  storms.  I  calculated  that  if  I  did  not  reach 
Longmount  in  half  an  hour  it  would  be  quite  dark, 
and  that  I  should  be  so  frozen  or  paralysed  with  cold 
that  I  should  fall  off.  Not  a  quarter  of  an  hour  alter 
I  had  wondered  how  long  I  could  hold  on  I  saw,  to 
my  surprise,  close  to  me,  half  smothered  in  snow,  the 
scattered  houses  and  blessed  lights  of  Longmount, 
and  welcome,  indeed,  its  wide,  dreary,  lifeless,  sound- 
less road  looked !  When  I  reached  the  hotel  I  was 
so  benumbed  that  I  could  not  get  off,  and  the  worthy 
host  lifted  me  off  and  carried  me  in.  Not  expecting 
any  travellers,  they  had  no  fire  except  in  the  bar 
room,  so  they  took  me  to  the  stove  in  their  own 
room,  gave  me  a  hot  drink  and  plenty  of  blanket* 


278  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xn 

and  in  half  an  hour  I  was  all  right  and  ready  for  8 
ferocious  meal  "  If  there's  a  traveller  on  the  prairie 
to-night,  God  help  him!"  the  host  had  said  to  hig 
wife  just  before  I  came  in. 

I  found  Evans  there,  storm-stayed,  and  that — to 
his  great  credit  at  the  time — my  money  matters  were 
all  right.  After  the  sound  and  refreshing  sleep  which 
one  gets  in  this  splendid  climate,  I  was  ready  for  an 
early  start,  but,  warned  by  yesterday's  experience, 
waited  till  twelve  to  be  sure  of  the  weather.  The 
air  was  intensely  clear,  and  the  mercury  seventeen 
degrees  below  zero  !  The  snow  sparkled  and  snapped 
under  one's  feet.  It  was  gloriously  beautiful !  In 
this  climate,  if  you  only  go  out  for  a  short  tune  you 
do  not  feel  cold  even  without  a  hat,  or  any  additional 
wrappings.  I  bought  a  cardigan  for  myself,  how- 
ever, and  some  thick  socks,  got  some  stout  snow- 
shoes  for  Birdie's  hind  feet,  had  a  pleasant  talk  with 
some  English  friends,  did  some  commissions  for  the 
men  in  the  Park,  and  hung  about  waiting  for  a 
freight  train  to  break  the  track,  but  eventually,  in- 
spirited by  the  good  news  from  you,  left  Longmount 
alone,  and  for  the  last  time.  I  little  thought  that 
miserable,  broiling  day  on  which  I  arrived  at  it  with 
Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hughes,  of  the  glories  of  which  it  was 
the  gate,  and  of  the  "good  time"  I  should  have.  Now 
I  am  at  home  in  it ;  every  one  in  it  and  along  the 
St.  Vrain  Canyon  addresses  me  in  a  friendly  way  by 


JITTER  xvi.  TUB  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  279 

name;  and  the  newspapers,  with  their  intolerable 
personality,  have  made  me  and  my  riding  exploits  so 
notorious,  that  travellers  speak  courteously  to  me 
when  they  meet  me  on  the  prairie,  doubtless  wishing 
to  see  what  sort  of  monster  I  am!  I  have  met 
nothing  but  civility,  both  of  manner  and  speech, 
except  that  distraught  pistol-shot.  It  looked  icily 
beautiful,  the  snow  so  pure  and  the  sky  such  a  bright, 
sharp  blue !  The  snow  was  so  deep  and  level  that 
after  a  few  miles  I  left  the  track,  and,  steering  for 
Storm  Peak,  rode  sixteen  miles  over  the  pathless 
prairie  without  seeing  man,  bird,  or  beast — a  solitude 
awful  even  in  the  bright  sunshine.  The  cold,  always 
great,  became  piteous.  I  increased  the  frostbite  of 
yesterday  by  exposing  my  hand  in  mending  the 
stirrup;  and  when  the  sun  sank  in  indescribable 
beauty  behind  the  mountains,  and  colour  rioted  in 
the  sky,  I  got  off  and  walked  the  last  four  miles,  and 
stole  in  here  in  the  coloured  twilight  without  any  one 
seeing  me. 

The  life  of  which  I  wrote  before  is  scarcely  less 
severe,  though  lightened  by  a  hope  of  change,  and 
this  weather  brings  out  some  special  severities.  The 
stove  has  to  be  in  the  living-room,  the  children 
cannot  go  out,  and,  good  and  delightful  as  they  are, 
it  is  hard  for  them  to  be  shut  up  all  day  with  four 
adults.  It  is  more  of  a  trouble  than  you  would  think 
for  a  lady  in  precarious  health  that  before  each 


280  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xvi 

eggs,  butter,  milk,  preserves,  and  pickles  have  to  b« 
unfrozen.  Unless  they  are  kept  on  the  stove,  there 
is  no  part  of  the  room  in  which  they  do  not  freeze, 
It  is  uninteresting  down  here  in  the  foothills.  I 
long  for  the  rushing  winds,  the  piled-up  peaks,  the 
great  pines,  the  wild  night  noises,  the  poetry  and  the 
prose  of  the  free,  jolly  life  of  my  unrivalled  eyrie.  I 
can  hardly  realise  that  the  river  which  lies  ice-bound 
outside  this  house  is  the  same  which  flashes  through 
Estes  Park,  and  which  I  saw  snow-born  on  Long's 
Peak. 

ESTES  PARK,  December  7. 

Yesterday  morning  the  mercury  had  disappeared, 
BO  it  was  20°  below  zero  at  least.  I  lay  awake 
from  cold  all  night,  but  such  is  the  wonderful 
effect  of  the  climate,  that  when  I  got  up  at  half- 
past  five  to  waken  the  household  for  my  early 
start,  I  felt  quite  refreshed.  We  breakfasted  on 
buffalo  beef,  and  I  left  at  eight  to  ride  forty-five 
miles  before  night,  Dr.  Hughes  and  a  gentleman 
who  was  staying  there  convoying  me  the  first 
Sfteen  miles.  I  did  like  that  ride,  racing  with  the 
other  riders,  careering  through  the  intoxicating  ail 
in  that  indescribable  sunshine,  the  powdery  snow 
spurned  from  the  horses'  feet  like  dust !  I  was  soon 
warm.  We  stopped  at  a  trapper's  ranch  to  feed,  and 
the  old  trapper  amused  me  by  seeming  to  think  Estes 
Park  almost  inaccessible  in  winter.  The  distance  was 


LET-TEA  XVL  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  28, 

greater  than  I  had  been  told,  and  he  said  that  1 
could  not  get  there  before  eleven  at  night,  and  not  at 
all  if  there  was  much  drift.  I  wanted  the  gentlemen 
to  go  on  with  me  as  far  as  the  Devil's  Gate,  but 
they  could  not  because  their  horses  were  tired ;  and 
when  the  trapper  heard  that  he  exclaimed,  indig- 
nantly, "  What !  that  woman  going  into  the  moun- 
tains alone?  She'll  lose  the  track  or  be  froze  to 
death ! "  But  when  I  told  him  I  had  ridden  the 
trail  in  the  storm  of  Tuesday,  and  had  ridden  over 
six  hundred  miles  alone  in  the  mountains,  he  treated 
me  with  great  respect  as  a  fellow-mountaineer,  and 
gave  me  some  matches,  saying,  "You'll  have  to 
camp  out  anyhow ;  you'd  better  make  a  fire  than  be 
froze  to  death."  The  idea  of  my  spending  the  night 
in  the  forest  alone,  by  a  fire,  struck  me  as  most 
grotesque. 

We  did  not  start  again  till  one,  and  the  two 
gentlemen  rode  the  first  two  miles  with  me.  On 
that  track,  the  Little  Thompson,  there  a  full  stream, 
has  to  be  crossed  eighteen  tunes,  and  they  had  been 
hauling  wood  across  it,  breaking  it,  and  it  had  broken 
and  refrozen  several  times,  making  thick  and  thin 
places — indeed,  there  were  crossings  which  even  1 
thought  bad,  where  the  ice  let  us  through,  and  it  was 
hard  for  the  horses  to  struggle  upon  it  again;  and 
one  of  the  gentlemen  who,  though  a  most  accom- 
plished man,  was  not  a  horseman,  was  once  or  twice 


282  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  r»r 

in  the  ludicrous  position  of  hesitating  on  the  bank 
with  an  anxious  face,  not  daring  to  spur  his  horse 
upon  the  ice.  After  they  left  me  I  had  eight  more 
crossings,  and  then  a  ride  of  six  miles,  before  I 
reached  the  old  trail ;  but  though  there  were  several 
drifts  up  to  the  saddle,  and  no  one  had  broken  a 
track,  Birdie  showed  such  pluck,  that  instead  of 
spending  the  night  by  a  camp  fire,  or  not  getting  in 
till  midnight,  I  reached  Mr.  Nugent's  cabin,  four 
miles  from  Estes  Park,  only  an  hour  after  dark,  very 
cold,  and  with  the  pony  so  tired  that  she  could 
hardly  put  one  foot  before  another.  Indeed,  I  walked 
the  last  three  miles.  I  saw  light  through  the  chinks 
but,  hearing  an  earnest  conversation  within,  was  just 
about  to  withdraw,  when  "  King  "  barked,  and  on  his 
master  coming  to  the  door  I  found  that  the  solitary 
man  was  talking  to  his  dog.  He  was  looking  out  for 
me,  and  had  some  coffee  ready,  and  a  large  fire,  which 
were  very  pleasant ;  and  I  was  very  glad  to  get  the 
latest  news  from  the  Park.  He  said  that  Evans 
told  him  that  it  would  be  most  difficult  for  any 
one  of  them  to  take  me  down  to  the  plains,  but 
that  he  would  go,  which  is  a  great  relief.  Accord- 
ing to  the  Scotch  proverb,  "  Better  a  finger  off  than 
aye  wagging,"  and  as  I  cannot  live  here  (for  you 
would  not  like  the  life  or  climate),  the  sooner  I  leave 
the  better. 

The  solitary  ride  to  Evans's  was  very  eerie.    It 


THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  283" 

was  very  dark,  and  the  noises  were  unintelligible, 
Young  Lj  man  rushed  out  to  take  my  horse,  and  the 
light  and  warmth  within  were  delightful,  but  there 
was  A  stiffness  about  the  new  regime.  Evans,  though 
steeped  in  difficulties,  was  as  hearty  and  generous  aa 
ever ;  but  Edwards,  who  had  assumed  the  manage- 
ment, is  prudent,  if  not  parsimonious,  thinks  we 
wasted  the  supplies  recklessly,  and  the  limitations  as 
to  milk,  etc.,  are  painfully  apparent.  A  young  ex- 
Guardsman  has  come  up  with  Evans,  of  whom  the 
sanguine  creature  forms  great  expectations,  to  be  dis- 
appointed doubtless.  In  the  afternoon  of  yesterday 
a  gentleman  came  who  I  thought  was  another 
stranger,  strikingly  handsome,  well-dressed,  and 
barely  forty,  with  sixteen  shining  gold  curls  falling 
down  his  collar ;  he  walked  in,  and  it  was  only  aftei 
a  careful  second  look  that  I  recognised  in  our  visitor 
the  redoubtable  "  desperado."  Evans  courteously 
pressed  him  to  stay  and  dine  with  us,  and  not  only 
did  he  show  the  most  singular  conversational  dexterity 
in  talking  with  the  stranger,  who  was  a  very  well- 
informed  man,  and  had  seen  a  great  deal  of  the 
world,  but,  though  he  lives  and  eats  like  a  savage, 
his  manners  and  way  of  eating  were  as  refined  as 
possible.  1  notice  that  Evans  is  never  quite  himself 
or  perfectly  comfortable  when  he  is  there;  and  on 
the  part  of  the  other  there  is  a  sort  of  stiffly-assumed 
cordiality,  significant,  I  fear,  of  lurking  hatred  on- 


284  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XTL 

both  sides.  I  was  in  the  kitchen  after  dinner  making 
rolled  puddings,  young  Lyman  was  eating  up  the 
relics  as  usual,  "  Jim  "  was  singing  one  of  Moore's 
melodies,  the  others  being  in  the  living-room,  when 
Mr.  Kavan  and  Mr.  Buchan  came  from  "  up  the 
creek  "  to  wish  me  good-bye.  They  said  it  was  not 
half  so  much  like  home  now,  and  recalled  the  "  good 
time  "  we  had  had  for  three  weeks.  Lyman  having 
lost  the  cow,  we  have  no  milk.  No  one  makes  bread ; 
they  dry  the  venison  into  chips,  and  getting  the 
meals  at  all  seems  a  work  of  toil  and  difficulty,  in- 
stead of  the  pleasure  it  used  to  be  to  us.  Evans, 
since  tea,  has  told  me  all  his  troubles  and  worries. 
He  is  a  kind,  generous,  whole-hearted,  unsuspicious 
man,  a  worse  enemy  to  himself,  I  believe,  than  to  any 
other ;  but  I  feel  sadly  that  the  future  of  a  man  who 
has  not  stronger  principles  than  he  has  must  be  at 
the  best  very  insecure.  I  L.  H 


LETTER  XVH 

Woman  s  Mission — The  Lost  Morning — Crossing  the  St. 

Miller — The  St.  Vrain  again  —  Crossing  the  Prairie — Jim'i 
Dream — "  Keeping  Strangers" — The  Inn  Kitchen — A  reputed 
Child-Eater — Notoriety — A  qniet  Dance — Jim's  Resolve— The 
Frost-Fall — An  unfortunate  Introduction. 

CHEYENNE,  WYOMING,  December  18. 
THE  last  evening  came.  I  did  not  wish  to  realise  it,  as 
I  looked  at  the  snow-peaks  glistening  in  the  moon- 
light. No  woman  will  be  seen  in  the  Park  till  next 
May.  Young  Lyman  talked  in  a  "  hifalutin  "  style,  but 
with  some  truth  in  it,  of  the  influence  of  a  woman's 
presence,  how  "  low,  mean,  vulgar  talk  "  had  died  out 
on  my  return,  how  they  had  "  all  pulled  themselves 
up/'  and  how  Mr.  Kavan  and  Mr.  Buchan  had  said 
they  would  like  always  to  be  as  quiet  and  gentle- 
manly as  when  a  lady  was  with  them.  "  By  May," 
he  said,  "  we  shall  be  little  better  than  brutes,  in  our 
manners  at  least."  I  have  seen  a  great  deal  of  the 
roughest  class  of  men  both  on  sea  and  land  during 
the  last  two  years,  and  the  more  important  I  think 
the  "  mission  "  of  every  quiet,  refined,  self-respecting 
woman — the  more  mistaken  I  think  those  who  would 


286  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  jtvii. 

forfeit  it  by  noisy  self-assertion,  masculinity,  or  fast- 
ness. In  all  this  wild  West  the  influence  of  woman 
is  second  only  in  its  benefits  to  the  influence  of  reli- 
gion, and  where  the  last  unhappily  does  not  exist  the 
first  continually  exerts  its  restraining  power.  The 
last  morning  came.  I  cleaned  up  my  room  and  sat 
at  the  window  watching  the  red  and  gold  of  one  of 
the  most  glorious  of  winter  sunrises,  and  the  slow 
lighting-up  of  one  peak  after  another.  I  have  written 
that  this  scenery  is  not  lovable,  but  I  love  it. 

I  left  on  Birdie  at  11  o'clock,  Evans  riding  with 
me  as  far  as  Mr.  Nugent's.  He  was  telling  me  so 
many  things,  that  at  the  top  of  the  hill  I  forgot  to 
turn  round  and  take  a  last  look  at  my  colossal,  re- 
splendent, lonely,  sunlit  den,  but  it  was  needless,  for 
I  carry  it  away  with  me.  I  should  not  have  been 
able  to  leave  if  Mr.  Nugent  had  not  offered  his  ser- 
vices. His  chivalry  to  women  is  so  well  known,  that 
Evans  said  I  could  be  safer  and  better  cared  for  with 
no  one.  He  added,  "  His  heart  is  good  and  kind,  as 
kind  a  heart  as  ever  beat.  He's  a  great  enemy  of  his 
own,  bu^  he's  been  living  pretty  quietly  for  the  last 
four  years."  At  the  door  of  his  den  I  took  leave  of 
Birdie,  who  had  been  my  faithful  companion  for  more 
than  700  miles  of  travelling,  and  of  Evans,  who  had 
been  uniformly  kind  to  me  and  just  in  all  his  deal- 
ings, even  to  paying  to  me  at  that  moment  the  very- 
last  dollar  he  owed  me.  May  God  bless  him  and  his l 


MITER  xvil.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  287 

He  was  obliged  to  return  before  I  could  get  off,  and 
as  he  commended  me  to  Mr.  Nugent's  care,  the  two 
men  shook  hands  kindly.1 

Rich  spoils  of  beavers'  skins  were  lying  on  the 
cabin  floor,  and  the  trapper  took  the  finest,  a  mouse- 
coloured  kitten  beaver's  skin,  and  presented  it  to  me. 
1  hired  his  beautiful  Arab  mare,  whose  springy  step 
and  long  easy  stride  was  a  relief  after  Birdie's  short 
aturdy  gait.  We  had  a  very  pleasant  ride,  and  I 
seldom  had  to  walk.  "We  took  neither  of  the  trails, 
tmt  cut  right  through  the  forest  to  a  place  where, 
through  an  opening  in  the  foothills,  the  plains 
stretched  to  the  horizon  covered  with  snow,  the  sur- 
lace  of  which,  having  melted  and  frozen,  reflected  as 
water  would  the  pure  blue  of  the  sky,  presenting  a 
complete  optical  illusion.  It  required  my  knowledge 
of  fact  to  assure  me  that  I  was  not  looking  at  the 
ocean.  "  Jim "  shortened  the  way  by  repeating  a 
great  deal  of  poetry,  and  by  earnest,  reasonable  con- 
versation, so  that  I  was  quite  surprised  when  it  grew 
dark.  He  told  me  that  he  never  lay  down  to  sleep 

1  Some  months  later  "Mountain  Jim"  fell  by  Evans's  hand, 
••hot  from  Evans's  doorstep  while  riding  past  his  cabin.  The  story 
of  the  previous  weeks  is  dark,  sad,  and  evil.  Of  the  five  differing 
versions  which  have  been  written  to  me  of  the  act  itself  and  its 
immediate  causes,  it  is  best  to  give  none.  The  tragedy  is  too  pain- 
ful to  dwell  upon.  "  Jim "  lived  long  enough  to  give  his  own 
statement,  and  to  appeal  to  the  judgment  of  God,  but  died  in  low 
delirium  before  the  case  reached  a  human  tribunal. 


288  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LKTTBI 

without  prayer — prayer  chiefly  that  God  would  give 
him  a  happy  death,  He  had  previously  promised 
that  he  would  not  hurry  or  scold,  but  "  fyking"  had 
not  been  included  in  the  arrangement,  and  whea  in 
the  early  darkness  we  reached  the  steep  hill,  at  w  hose 
foot  the  rapid  deep  St.  Vrain  flows,  he  "  fyk^  K  un- 
reasonably about  me,  the  mare,  and  the  crossing  gene- 
rally, and  seemed  to  think  I  could  not  get  through, 
for  the  ice  had  been  cut  with  an  axe,  and  we  could 
not  see  whether  "glaze  "  had  formed  sine*1  or  no  I 
was  to  have  slept  at  the  house  of  a  woman  farther 
down  the  canyon,  who  never  ceases  talking,  but 
Miller,  the  young  man  whose  attractive  bouse  and 
admirable  habits  I  have  mentioned  before,  came  out 
and  said  his  house  was  "  now  fixed  for  ladies,"  so  we 
stayed  there,  and  I  was  "  made  as  comfortable  "  as- 
could  be.  His  house  is  a  model.  He  cleans  every- 
thing as  soon  as  it  is  used,  so  nothing  is  ever  dirty, 
and  his  stove  and  cooking  gear  in  their  bright  parte 
look  like  polished  silver.  It  was  amusing  to  hear  the 
two  men  talk  like  two  women  about  various  ways  of 
making  bread  and  biscuits,  one  even  writing  out  a 
recipe  for  the  other.  It  was  almost  grievous  that  a 
solitary  man  should  have  the  power  of  making  a 
house  so  comfortable !  They  heated  a  stone  for  my 
feet,  warmed  a  blanket  for  me  to  sleep  in,  and  put 
logs  enough  on  the  fire  to  burn  all  night,  for  the. 
mercury  was  eleven  below  zero.  The  stars  were  in 


LETTKK  xvn.  TIIK  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  289 

tensely  bright,  and  a  well-defined  auroral  arch, 
throwing  off  fantastic  coruscations,  lighted  the  whole 
northern  sky.  Yet  I  was  only  in  the  foothills,  and 
Long's  glorious  Peak  was  not  to  be  seen.  Miller  had 
all  his  things  "  washed  up  "  and  his  "  pots  and  pans  " 
cleaned  in  ten  minutes  after  supper,  and  then  had  the 
whole  evening  in  which  to  smoke  and  enjoy  himself 
— a  poor  woman  would  probably  have  been  "  fussing 
round  "  till  10  o'clock  about  the  same  work.  Besides 
Eing  there  was  another  gigantic  dog  craving  for  notice, 
and  two  large  cats,  which,  the  whole  evening,  were  on 
their  master's  knee.  Cold  as  the  night  was,  the  house 
was  chinked,  and  the  rooms  felt  quite  warm.  I  even 
missed  the  free  currents  of  air  which  I  had  been  used 
to !  This  was  my  last  evening  in  what  may  be  called 
a  mountainous  region.  Bancroft 

The  next  morning,  as  soon  as  the  sun  was  weU 
risen,  we  left  for  our  journey  of  30  miles,  which  had 
to  be  done  nearly  at  a  foot's  pace,  owing  to  one  horse 
being  encumbered  with  my  luggage.  I  did  not  wish 
to  realise  that  it  was  my  last  ride,  and  my  last  asso- 
ciation with  any  of  the  men  of  the  mountains  whom 
I  had  learned  to  trust,  and  in  some  respects  to  admire. 
Ko  more  hunters'  tales  told  while  the  pine  knots 
crack  and  blaze;  no  more  thrilling  narratives  of 
adventures  with  Indians  and  bears ;  and  never  again 
shall  I  hear  that  strange  talk  of  Xature  and  her 
doings  which  is  the  speech  of  those  who  live  with  hei 

c 


290  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  xvii. 


and  her  alone.  Already  the  dismalness  of  a 
land  comes  over  me.  The  canyon  of  the  St.  Vrain 
was  in  all  its  glory  of  colour,  but  we  had  a  remark- 
ably ugly  crossing  of  that  brilliant  river,  which  was 
frozen  all  over,  except  an  unpleasant  gap  of  about 
two  feet  in  the  middle.  Mr.  Nugent  had  to  drive  the 
frightened  horses  through,  while  I,  having  crossed 
on  some  logs  lower  down,  had  to  catch  them  on  the 
other  side  as  they  plunged  to  shore  trembling  with 
fear.  Then  we  emerged  on  the  vast  expanse  of  the 
glittering  plains,  and  a  sudden  sweep  of  wind  made 
the  cold  so  intolerable  that  I  had  to  go  into  a  house 
to  get  warm.  This  was  the  last  house  we  saw  till  we 
reached  our  destination  that  night.  I  never  saw  the 
mountain  range  look  so  beautiful  —  uplifted  in  every 
shade  of  transparent  blue,  till  the  sublimity  of  Long's 
Peak,  and  the  lofty  crest  of  Storm  Peak,  bore  only 
unsullied  snow  against  the  sky.  Peaks  gleamed  in 
living  light  ;  canyons  lay  in  depths  of  purple  shade  ; 
100  miles  .  away  Pike's  Peak  rose  a  lump  of  blue, 
and  over  all,  through  that  glorious  afternoon,  a  veil 
of  blue  spiritualised  without  dimming  the  outlines  of 
that  most  glorious  range,  making  it  look  like  the 
dreamed-of  mountains  of  "  the  land  which  is  very  far 
off,"  till  at  sunset  it  stood  out  sharp  in  glories  ot 
violet  and  opal,  and  the  whole  horizon  up  to  a  great 
height  was  suffused  with  the  deep  rose  and  pure 
orange  of  the  afterglow.  It  seemed  all  dream-like 


xvii.  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  291 

as  we  passed  through  the  sunlit  solitude,  on  the  right 
the  prairie  waves  lessening  towards  the  far  horizon, 
while  on  the  left  they  broke  in  great  snowy  surges 
Against  the  Eocky  Mountains.  All  that  day  we 
neither  saw  man,  beast,  nor  bird.  "  Jim  "  was  silent 
mostly.  Like  all  true  children  of  the  mountains,  he 
pined  even  when  temporarily  absent  from  them. 

At  sunset  we  reached  a  cluster  of  houses  called 
Namaqua,  where,  to  my  dismay,  I  heard  that  there 
was  to  be  a  dance  at  the  one  little  inn  to  which  we 
were  going  at  St.  Louis.  I  pictured  to  myself  no 
privacy,  no  peace,  no  sleep,  drinking,  low  sounds, 
and  worse  than  all,  "Jim"  getting  into  a  quarrel 
and  using  his  pistols.  He  was  uncomfortable  about 
it  for  another  reason.  He  said  he  had  dreamt  the 
night  before  that  there  was  to  be  a  dance,  and  that 
he  had  to  shoot  a  man  for  making  "  an  unpleasant 
remark  ! "  For  the  last  three  miles  which  we  accom- 
plished after  sunset  the  cold  was  most  severe,  but 
nothing  could  exceed  the  beauty  of  the  afterglow, 
and  the  strange  look  of  the  rolling  plains  of  snow 
beneath  it.  When  we  got  to  the  queer  little  place 
where  they  "  keep  strangers  "  at  St.  Louis,  they  were 
very  civil,  and  said  that  after  supper  we  could  have 
the  kitchen  to  ourselves.  I  found  a  large,  prononcde, 
competent,  bustling  widow,  hugely  stout,  able  to 
manage  all  men  and  everything  else,  and  a  very 
florid  sister  like  herself,  top-heavy  with  hair.  There 


292  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LETTER  XVIL 

were  besides  two  naughty  children  in  the  kitchen, 
who  cried  incessantly,  and  kept  opening  and  shutting 
the  door.  There  was  no  place  to  sit  down  but  a 
wooden  chair  by  the  side  of  the  kitchen  stove,  at 
which  supper  was  being  cooked  for  ten  men.  The 
bustle  and  clatter  were  indescribable,  and  the  land- 
lady asked  innumerable  questions,  and  seemed  to  fill 
the  whole  room.  The  only  expedient  for  me  for  the 
night  was  to  sleep  on  a  shakedown  in  a  very  small 
room  occupied  by  the  two  women  and  the  children 
and  even  this  was  not  available  till  midnight,  when 
the  dance  terminated;  and  there  was  no  place  in 
which  to  wash  except  a  bowl  in  the  kitchen.  I  sat 
by  the  stove  till  supper,  wearying  of  the  noise  and 
bustle  after  the  quiet  of  Estes  Park.  The  landlady 
asked,  with  great  eagerness,  who  the  gentleman  was 
who  was  with  me,  and  said  that  the  men  outside 
were  saying  that  they  were  sure  that  it  was  "  Eocky 
Mountain  Jim,"  but  she  was  sure  it  was  not.  When 
I  told  her  that  the  men  were  right,  she  exclaimed, 
"  Do  tell !  I  want  to  know !  that  quiet,  kind  gentle- 
man ! "  and  she  said  she  used  to  frighten  her  children 
when  they  were  naughty  by  telling  them  that  "he 
would  get  them,  for  he  came  down  from  the  moun- 
tains every  week,  and  took  back  a  child  with  him  to 
eat ! "  She  was  as  proud  of  having  him  in  her  house 
as  if  he  had  been  the  President,  and  I  gained  a 
reflected  importance  !  All  the  men  in  the  settlement 


LifiTTER  xvn.          THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  293 

I 

assembled  in  the  front  room,  hoping  he  would  go  and 
smoke  there,  and  when  he  remained  in  the  kitchen 
they  came  round  the  window  and  into  the  doorway 
to  look  at  him.  The  children  got  on  his  knee,  and, 
to  my  great  relief,  he  kept  them  good  and  quiet,  and 
let  them  play  with  his  curls,  to  the  great  delight  of 
the  two  women,  who  never  took  their  eyes  off  him. 
At  last  the  bad-smelling  supper  was  served,  and  ten 
silent  men  came  in  and  gobbled  it  up,  staring  steadily 
at  "  Jim  "  as  they  gobbled.  Afterwards,  there  seemed 
QO  hope  of  quiet,  so  we  went  to  the  post-office,  and 
while  waiting  for  stamps  were  shown  into  the  pret- 
tiest and  most  ladylike-looking  room  I  have  seen  in 
the  West,  created  by  a  pretty  and  refined-looking 
woman.  She  made  an  opportunity,  for  asking  me  if 
it  were  true  that  the  gentleman  with  me  was  "  Moun- 
tain Jim,"  and  added  that  so  very  gentlemanly  a 
person  could  not  be  guilty  of  the  misdeeds  attributed 
to  him.  When  we  returned,  the  kitchen  was  much 
quieter.  It  was  cleared  by  eight,  as  the  landlady 
promised;  we  had  it  to  ourselves  till  twelve,  and 
could  scarcely  hear  the  music.  It  was  a  most 
respectable  dance,  a  fortnightly  gathering  got  up  by 
the  neighbouring  settlers,  most  of  them  young  mar- 
ried people,  and  there  was  no  drinking  at  all.  I 
wrote  to  you  for  some  time,  while  Mr.  Nugent  copied 
for  himself  the  poems  "  In  the  Glen  "  and  the  latter 
half  of  "  The  River  without  a  Bridge,"  which  he  re- 


294  A  LADY'S  LIFE  IN  LBTTEB  mi. 

cited  with  deep  feeling.  It  was  altogether  very  quiet 
and  peaceful.  He  repeated  to  me  several  poems  of 
great  merit  which  he  had  composed,  and  told  me 
much  more  about  his  life.  I  knew  that  no  one  else 
could  or  would  speak  to  him  as  I  could,  and  for  the 
last  time  I  urged  upon  him  the  necessity  of  a  refor- 
mation in  his  life,  beginning  with  the  giving  up  of 
whisky,  going  so  far  as  to  tell  him  that  I  despised  a 
man  of  his  intellect  for  being  a  slave  to  such  a  vice. 
"  Too  late !  too  late ! "  he  alwa'ys  answered,  "  for  such 
a  change."  Ay,  too  late.  He  shed  tears  quietly. 
"It  might  have  been  once,"  he  said.  Ay,  might 
have  been.  He  has  excellent  sense  for  every  one  but 
himself,  and,  as  I  have  seen  him  with  a  single  excep- 
tion, a  gentleness,  propriety,  and  considerateness  of 
manner  surprising  in  any  man,  but  especially  so  in  a 
man  associating  only  with  the  rough  men  of  the 
"West.  As  I  looked  at  him,  I  felt  a  pity  such  as  I 
never  before  felt  for  a  human  being.  My  thought  at 
the  moment  was,  Will  not  our  Father  in  heaven, 
"  who  spared  not  His  own  Son,  but  delivered  Him 
up  for  us  all,"  be  far  more  pitiful  ?  For  the  time  a 
desire  for  self-respect,  better  aspirations,  and  even 
hope  itself,  entered  his  dark  life ;  and  he  said,  sud- 
denly, that  he  had  made  up  his  mind  to  give  up 
whisky  and  his  reputation  as  a  desperado.  But  it 
is  "  too  late."  A  little  before  twelve  the  dance  was 
over,  and  I  got  to  the  crowded  little  bedroom,  which 


-KTTBR  xvii  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.  295 

only  allowed  of  one  person  standing  in  it  at  a  time, 
to  sleep  soundly  and  dream  of  "  ninety-and-nine  just 
persons  who  need  no  repentance."  The  landlady 
was  quite  taken  up  with  her  "  distinguished  guest." 
'That  kind,  quiet  gentleman,  Mountain  Jim! 
Well,  I  never !  he  must  be  a  very  good  man  ! " 

Yesterday  morning  the  mercury  was  20°  below 
zero.  I  think  I  never  saw  such  a  brilliant  atmo- 
sphere. That  curious  phenomena  called  frost-fall 
was  occurring,  in  which,  whatever  moisture  may 
exist  in  the  air,  somehow  aggregates  into  feathers 
and  fern-leaves,  the  loveliest  of  creations,  only  seen 
in  rarefied  air  and  intense  cold.  One  breath  and 
they  vanish.  The  air  was  filled  with  diamond  sparks 
quite  intangible.  They  seemed  just  glitter  and  no 
more.  It  was  still  and  cloudless,  and  the  shapes  of 
violet  mountains  were  softened  by  a  veil  of  the 
tenderest  blue.  When  the  Greeley  stage- waggon 
came  up,  Mr.  Fodder,  whom  I  met  at  Lower  Canyon, 
was  on  it.  He  had  expressed  a  great  wish  to  go  to 
Estes  Park,  and  to  hunt  with  "  Mountain  Jim,"  if  it 
would  be  safe  to  do  the  latter.  He  was  now  dressed 
in  the  extreme  of  English  dandyism,  and  when  I  in- 
troduced them,1  he  put  out  a  small  hand  cased  in  a 

1  Thia  was  a  truly  unfortunate  introduction.  It  was  the  first 
link  in  the  chain  of  circumstances  which  brought  about  Mr.  Nugent'* 
on  timely  end,  and  it  was  at  this  person's  instigation  (when  orexooMt 
by  far)  that  Evans  fired  the  shot  which  proved  fatal 


296  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.          LETTER  XVIL 

perfectly-fitting  lemon-coloured  kid  glove.  As  the 
trapper  stood  there  in  his  grotesque  rags  and  odds 
and  ends  of  apparel,  his  gentlemanliness  of  deport- 
ment brought  into  relief  the  innate  vulgarity  of  a 
rich  parvenu.  Mr.  Fodder  rattled  so.  amusingly  as 
we  drove  away  that  I  never  realised  that  my  Eocky 
Mountain  life  was  at  an  end,  not  even  when  I  saw 
"  Mountain  Jim,"  with  his  golden  hair  yellow  in  the 
sunshine,  slowly  leading  the  beautiful  mare  over  the 
snowy  plains  back  to  Estes  Park,  equipped  with  the 
saddle  on  which  I  had  ridden  800  miles ! 

A  drive  of  several  hours  over  the  plains  brought 
us  to  Greeley,  and  a  few  hours  later,  in  the  far  blue 
distance,  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  all  that  they 
enclose,  went  down  below  the  prairie  sea. 

I.  L.  B. 


